UC-NRLF 


fl34 


Frederick  Slate 
Professor  of  Physics 


*    I 


HINTS  ON  [ANGUAGE 


IN    CONNECTION    WITH 


SIGHT-READING  AND  WRITING 

IN 

PRIMARY   AND   INTERMEDIATE 
SCHOOLS 


BY 

S.   ARTHUR    BENT,  A.M. 

SII'I   KlJVrKNUKNT  OK  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OK  CLINTON,  MASS. 


BOSTO X 

LKK    AND    SHEPARD     PUBLISHERS 

NKW  YORK    CHARLES  T.    1)1 1.1,1  NC.ff AM 
1886 


Copyright,  1885. 
BY  J.EK  AND  SHKVA 


ELECTROTYPF.D  BY 

C.  0.  PETE  its  A  NO  .Sox,  BOSTON. 


PREFACE. 


LANGUAGE-EXERCISE  is  now  found  on  the  pro- 
gramme of  most  Primary  Schools,  from  the  lowest 
grade  upwards.  The  absence  of  a  text-book,  how- 
ever, on  a  subject  which  must  be  taught  orally, 
makes  instruction  unsystematic  and  often  unsuc- 
cessful. In  order  to  suggest  a  method  of  graded 
class-work,  which  shall  include  under  the  head  of 
Language  whatever  is  taught  in  reading,  writing, 
form,  color,  and  number,  the  author  offers  the  fol- 
lowing Hints  to  the  profession,  on  the  basis  of 
experiments  already  attempted  by  teachers  whose 
assistance  is  gratefully  acknowledged. 

S.    A.     J5. 

CLINTON,  MASS.,  October,  188;. 


984551 


CONTENTS. 


GRADE  I. 

PAC;K 

Language-Teaching.  —  Its  true  place 7 

Talking  as  Language 9 

Object  Lessons  in  Language ro 

The  Development  Method i  r 

I  See,  O  See,  Developed 12 

A  Cat,  Developed 13 

Ran,  Developed 15 

Review [6 

Third  Month '.     .     .     .  17 

Writing j8 

Sight- Reading 19 

Phonic  Exercise -22 

Thiigh-book.     Ugh-cat 22 

Language-Exercises 23 

The  Cat  as  Object- Lesson    .     . 28 

Vocabulary  of  Three  Hundred  Words 30 

GRADE  II. 

Sight-Reading ^ 

Definition •\i- 

Spelling 37 

Language ;VS 

Picture  Lessons 39 

Letter- Writing i; 

5 


O  CONTENTS. 

Correct  Speech 44 

Dictation 45 

Number 45 

Abstract  and  Concrete 46 

GRADE  III. 

Ink 47 

Reading  and  Number 48 

Language ' 49 

Monday's  Exercise 49 

Tuesday's         "             c;i 

Wednesday's  "             52 

Thursday's       "             , 53 

Friday's                          54 

Picture-Exercise  on  the  Lion 56 

Picture-Exercise  on  Silk 56 

Geography 57 

Declamation 58 

GRADE  IV.  AND  V. 

The  Dictionary 59 

What  Pupils  now  Know 59 

The  Teacher's  Programme 60 

Oral  Methods 61 

Exercise  on  the  Camel     •     .     .     . 65 

Exercise  on  the  Elephant 68 

Letter-Writing 70 

Books  of  Authority  on  Topics  Suitable  for  Language  Ex- 
ercise      .  72 

Teachers'  Consulting  Library 74 


HINTS  ON  LANGUAGE. 


GRADE  I.  —  FIRST  YEAR. 

LANGUAGE   is    the    medium    through    which    man 
communicates  with  his  fellow.      The  degree  of  his 

culture    is    measured    by   the    comparative 

.  .  Lanffuage- 

fullness  and  precision  with  which  he  uses  teaching. - 

this  medium.  Not  so  much  the  posses- Its  true 
sion  of  knowledge  as  the  ability  to  impart  p 
it  makes  him  valuable  to  society.  To  teach  him  to 
convey  his  ideas  correctly  is,  then,  as  high  a  task  as 
to  teach  him  the  ideas  themselves.  But  the  teacher  of 
Grade  I.  has  the  double  duty  of  creating  ideas  in  her 
pupils'  minds,  and  of  calling  out  the  correct  expres- 
sion of  those  ideas.  Looked  at  broadly,  it  is  not  her 
business  to  teach  her  pupils  to  read  or  spell,  to  write 
or  cipher,  but  to  develop  in  them  the  correct  use  of 
the  English  language  in  its  written  or  spoken  forms. 
As  the  possession  of  ideas  must  precede  the  expres- 
"sion  of  them,  the  teacher  will  first  endeavor  to  sup- 
ply or  create  ideas  in  her  pupils'  minds.  She  does 
this  through  the  operation  of  their  senses,  and  in  so 
7 


HIXTiS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

doing  she  merely  introduces  Nature's  method  into 
{•e-'^hoolroora,  Only  in  proportion  as  she  makes 
herself  Nature's  assistant  and  interpreter  will  she 
succeed.  As  oral  precedes  written  communication, 
her  work  in  language  will  begin  with  oral  communi- 
cation ;  but  whether  oral  or  written,  it  must  be  con- 
sidered first  and  last  an  exercise  in  language,  of 
which  reading,  writing,  spelling,  and  oral  number- 
work  are  but  the  various  forms. 

The  child  enters  school  with  the  power  of  speech, 
and  with  a  small  vocabulary  of  words,  sufficient  to 
express,  more  or  less  perfectly,  his  ideas.  To  en- 
large his  vocabulary  it  is  necessary  to  increase  the 
number  of  his  ideas.  These  will  be  obtained  from 
objects,  of  which  words  are  the  symbols  or  represen- 
tatives. Teach,  therefore,  no  word  until  the  idea 
it  represents  is  understood;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
make  the  symbol  as  familiar  as  the  object.  As  Nature 
presents  objects  as  wholes,  teach  the  symbols  of 
these  objects  as  wholes ;  then  analyze  the  objects  in 
point  of  form,  color,  size,  and  their  symbols  in  point 
of  sound.  (New  teachers  sometimes  think  that  be- 
cause reading  is  no  longer  taught  by  analyzing 
words  into  their  component  letters,  that  the  letters 
themselves  are  not  to  be  taught ;  and  a  teacher  of 
Grade  I.  once  objected  to  receiving  a  pupil  because 
he  did  not  know  his  letters,  as  if  it  were  not  her 
business  to  teach  them.) 

As  ideas  are  to  be  produced  by  means  of  objects, 
the  objects  must  be  shown.  Talking  about  an  ob- 


LANGUAGE-TEACHING  —  ITS    TKl'K    I'LACK.        9 

ject  conveys  no  tangible  idea  to  the  child.  To 
appreciate  he  must  see.  If  the  object  itself  cannot 
be  shown,  it  should  be  represented  by  a  picture.  If 
the  picture  be  not  at  hand,  one  should  be  drawn 
upon  the  board.  The  act  of  drawing  is  itself  inter- 
esting, as  line  after  line  completes  a  recognizable 
form  before  a  group  of  eager  spectators.  The 
teacher  of  Grade  I.  should  be  able  to  talk  easily, 
and  to  draw.  She  should  herself  talk  in  order  to 
excite  ideas  and  expression  in  her  pupils,  and  to 
draw  in  order  to  convey  visible  form  when  other 
representations  are  lacking. 

Remember  that  your  pupils,  if  left  to  themselves, 
would  talk  all  the  time.  This  tendency  should  not 
be  repressed  in  Grade  I.,  but  directed  into  Talking  as 
proper  channels.  In  many  cases  the  teach-  Langua£e- 
er's  first  duty  is  to  overcome  the  timidity  of  certain 
children  who  find  themselves  in  a  strange  room,  sur- 
rounded perhaps  by  strangers,  told  to  sit  quietly  in 
rows,  facing  a  personage  clothed  with  powers  of,  to 
them,  vague  and  limitless  authority.  Be.  mindful  of 
first  impressions.  A  sunbeam  from  the  teacher's 
heart  may  at  once  melt  the  child's  soul  into  music 
like  that  of  Memnon's  statue  ;  a  cross  or  nervous 
welcome,  a  frown  or  threat,  will  freeze  it  into  stone. 
A  schoolroom  of  this  grade,  awed  into  silence,  is 
more  depressing  than  the  "  Street  of  the  Tombs  " 
in  Pompeii.  Talk  to  your  children  merrily  and 
heartily,  and  make  them  talk, —  first  to  remove  their 
timidity,  and  then  to  enlarge  their  power  of  expres- 


IO  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

sion.     Make  them  love  to  hear  your  voice,  and  \our 
power  over  them  will  be  unlimited. 

Make  all  your  talking,  however,  tell.  With  this 
in  view  begin  with  objects  of  daily  life,  familiar  to 
Object  a^  children.  Show  the  picture  of  a  cat,  a 
Lessons  in  dog,  or  a  hen,  or  point  to  some  object  in 
.anguage.  ^e  room,  because  the  pupil  will  recognize 
the  symbols  of  these  objects  sooner  than  those  of 
objects  hitherto  unknown.  Draw  the  picture  of  such 
objects  as  cannot  be  shown  ;  talk  about  them  and  let 
the  children  talk.  In  order  that  the  power  of  lan- 
guage thus  gained  may  be  readily  applied  to  read- 
ing, a  list  of  three  hundred  words  is  given  on  pages 
31,  32  which  are  to  be  developed  during  the  first  five 
months  of  school  life.  This  system  will  be  pursued 
for  two  months  at  least,  before  any  attempt  is  made 
to  teach  reading  from  print,  because  at  least  that 
length  of  time  is  necessary  to  provide  a  sufficient 
number  of  ideas  clearly  apprehended  by  the  child's 
mind,  and  because  it  is  only  after  such  a  probation- 
ary period  that  the  symbols  of  those  ideas,  which  we 
call  words,  will  be  also  equally  well  defined  and  un- 
mistakably impressed,  so  that  the  symbol  for  cat 
cannot  by  any  misapprehension  be  applied  to  the 
idea  dog.  Let  us  enter  a  schoolroom  and  see  how 
this  system  of  development  may  be  applied  to  a 
class  recently  admitted.  The  first  lesson,  for  in- 
stance, is  "  a  dog/' 

A  group  of  eight  or  ten  children  run  from  their 
seats  at  the  teacher's  call,  and  surround  her  at  the 


THE    DEVELOPMENT    METHOD.  II 

blackboard.  No  timidity  is  apparent,  for  they  have 
become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  her  be-  TheDe_ 
fore  the  lesson  is  attempted.  She  has  in  velopment 
her  mind  the  word  to  be  developed,  and  Met  °  ' 
knows  how  to  interest,  which  is  the  first  step.  u  How 
many  can  tell  me  what  their  eyes  are  for  ?  "  is  her 
first  question.  "  To  see,"  "  to  look  with."  "  Yes  ; 
now  open  them  wide  and  look  straight  at  me,  and 
see  what  I  am  going  to  do."  The  class  are  all  atten- 
tion. With  a  few  strokes  of  the  crayon,  and  as  rap- 
idly as  possible,  the  teacher  draws  the  outline  of  a 
dog.  Before  it  is  finished  the  whispered  words,  "  It's 
a  dog !  See  the  head !  See  the  legs  !  "  can  be  heard 
from  the  group.  The  children  tell  the  teacher  what 
it  is,  and  a  talk  follows  about  dogs.  The  teacher 
asks  what  the  dog  says  and  does,  and  if  they  have 
one  at  home.  She  then  writes  the  word  on  the 
board  —  "  a  dog  "  —  and  says  "  a  dog."  "  I  will  put 
the  word  a  dog  on  the  board  for  every  little  boy 
and  girl."  Each  child  covers  his  word  with  his 
hand,  and  all  say  the  word  "  a  dog  "  in  natural  voice. 
Ask  different  children  what  word  they  have.  A/I 
look  at  the  word  attentively,  and  then  close  their 
eyes  and  think  how  it  looks.  Finally  ask  them  what 
they  would  do  if  a  dog  should  come  into  school. 
"  Laugh,"  says  one.  "  Yes,  probably,  but  should 
we  let  him  stay  ?  "  "  No,  we  would  drive  him  away." 
"  Well,  then,  I  think  we  had  better  send  the  dog  we 
have  here  away."  All  erase  in  great  haste,  and  then 
the  teacher  tells  the  children  to  run  to  their  seats 


12  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

and  make  a  picture  of  a  dog  like  the  one  on  the 
board  (later  on  they  will  be  able  to  copy  the  new 
word). 

We  will  now  apply  this  method  to  a  common 
idiom,  like  /  see,  O  see.  "  How  many  can  tell  me 
I  See,  0  once  more,  this  afternoon,  what  they  do 
See,  De-  with  their  eyes  ?  "  "  Look,  see,  .see  ! " 
-veloped.  « yes,  how  do  you  know  your  teacher  is 
here  before  you  ? "  "  We  can  see  you."  "  Yes, 
what  did  you  see  right  here  on  the  board  this  morn- 
ing? "  "A  dog."  "Well,  can  you  see  a  dog  here 
now  ?  No  ?  Very  well,  look  round  the  room  and 
tell  me  what,  you  can  "see."  Teacher  starts  the  game 
by  saying,  "/see  a  clock;  I  see  a  book."  The 
children  join  in  with,  "  I  see  a  bell,  I  see  a  chair,  I 
see  you,"  etc.  "  Run  to  the  window  and  tell  me 
what  you  can  see.  Now  what  do  you  see  here  ? " 
the  teacher  asks  as  they  return,  taking  a  toy  dog 
from  her  pocket.  "  A  dog  !  a  dog !  "  "  Yes,  but  tell 
me  the  whole  story.  When  you  were  at  the  window 
you  said  '  /  see  a  bird !  I  see  a  tree ! '  Now  what's 
the  story  about  the  dog? "  "  I  see  a  dog,"  some  one 
says.  "  Now  I  will  write  it  on  the  board  and  all  the 
children  may  say  it  over  once,  twice,  three  times."  "  I 
see  a  dog,"  is  the  response,  as  the  teacher  writes  the 
word  up  very  high  on  the  board,  down  low,  in  a  dog- 
house, etc.  "  Children,  if  we  should  go  out  into 
the  hall,  and  should  see  a  real  dog,  what  do  you  think 
we  should  say  ?  "  "A  dog's  out  there  !  "  says  one. 
"  Perhaps  so,  but  if  you  were  very  much  surprised, 


I    SEE,    O    SEE,    DEVELOPED.  13 

as  you  would  be  to  see  a  big,  black  dog  in  the  hall, 
1  think  you  would  make  your  mouth  very  round  and 
say,  4O  see  the  dog!5'  Teacher  makes  O  see  the 
dog  on  the  board.  "  Now,  children,  make  believe 
you  are  surprised  and  say,  '  O  see  the  dog ! '  "  Com- 
pare O  see  and  I  see.  Let  them  take  their  seats  and 
make  a  picture  of  something  they  can  see  in  the 
room.  Ask  them  when  they  go  home  to  use  their 
eyes  and  tell  you  whatever  they  may  see  on  the  way- 
Let  us  now  apply  our  method  to  teaching  the  sym- 
bol Cat.  "  How  many  are  glad  to  come  up  here  to 
see  teacher  this  morning  ?  Those  who  are 
may  raise  their  hands  ;  and,  if  you  are  very  a  " 
glad,  you  may  raise  both  hands."  "  Good  !  Now 
how  many  remember  what  the  story  was  about  yes- 
terday ?  Look  at  me  and  try  very  hard  to  think  ; 
now  the  one  who  thinks  first  may  come  here  and 
whisper  the  word  to  me."  All  but  two  of  the  ten 
get  the  right  word,  and  go  to  the  place  indicated,  by 
the  teacher's  desk.  Reward  these  children  by  let- 
ting them  clap  their  hands  vigorously  for  a  few  sec- 
onds, then  let  the  one  who  thought  first  tell  the 
word  for  the  benefit  of  the  two  children  who  did  not 
know.  The  teacher  then  writes  the  word  a  dog  on 
the  board  several  times,  then  the  stories,  I  see  a  dog! 
O  see  a  dog  /  The  children  distinguish  between  the 
two,  and  different  ones  repeat  the  sentences.  "How 
many  remembered  to  use  their  eyes  coming  to 
school  this  morning  ?  "  A  few  tell  what  they  saw,  and 
then  the  teacher  asks  if  they  would  like  to  know 


14  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

\vhat  she  saw  on  her  way  to  school.  "  Well,  I  will 
tell  you  all  about  it,  and  I  will  see  if  you  can  guess 
what  it  was.  As  I  was  walking  along,  something 
came  right  out  from  behind  a  tree,  and  ran  across 
the  road.  Now,  it  was  about  so  long  ;  it  was  all 
white,  and  had  four  legs  and  a  long  tail.  What 
do  you  think  it  was  ?  "  "  A  dog,  a  hen,  a  cat,"  are 
the  various  answers.  u  Well,  children,  it  looked  to 
me  very  much  like  this;"  and  the  teacher  draws 
rapidly  the  picture  of  a  cat  running.  (If  the  teacher 
cannot  do  this,  she  might  tell  the  class  to  close 
their  eyes  while  she  gets  a  toy  cat.  a  pasteboard 
representation  of  a  cat,  such  as  are  very  common  as 
advertisements,  or,  as  a  last  resort,  she  may  show 
the  picture  of  a  cat.  but  be  sure  to  show  some  repre- 
sentation of  the  real  object,  and  if  possible  draw 
it. )  Talk  about  the  cat  as  about  the  dog,  and  write 
a  cat  under  the  picture.  Write  it  many  times,  and 
let  the  children  say  "  a  cat."  Then  write  the  word 
in  yellow-,  red,  blue,  green  crayons.  Let  the  pupils 
close  their  eyes  ;  then  hide  the  new  word,  /.  ^.,  write 
it  on  different  parts  of  the  board,  and  at  the  same 
time  write  "  a  clog  "  to  see  if  the  children  can  dis- 
tinguish one  from  the  other.  The  ne*w  word  may  be 
written  in  a  column  of  unfamiliar  words,  and  the 
word  "  a  cat  "  picked  out.  Finally,  write  the  word 
in  very  large  letters,  and  refer  the  children  to  it  just 
before  going  home.  Ask  them  to  tell  mamma  about 
the  new  word  they  have  learned.  Of  course,  the 
idioms  /  see,  O  see,  must  be  written  in  connection 


KAN.  15 

with  a  cat,  and  the  stones  "  i  see  a  dog/'  "  I  see  a 
cat  "  compared.  The  word  rat  would  naturally 
come  next,  and  would  be  introduced  when  the  story 
of  the  cat  is  reviewed  and  continued. 

Let  us  now  take  the  action  word  ran.  The  teacher 
says  next  morning.  "  Children,  the  cat  that  I  told 
you  about  yesterday,  and  told  you  I  had  at 
home"  —  "  I  know,  the  one  with  the  short 
tail,"  interrupts  Johnnie.  "  Yes,  Johnnie,  that  very 
one  went  down  into  the  cellar  last  night,  and  what 
do  you  think  she  saw  ?  "  "  Some  rats,"  is  the  im- 
mediate answer.  u  Yes,  now  what  do  you  suppose 
she  did  ?  "  "  Chased  them  !  "  says  one.  "  Ran  !  " 
says  another.  "  True,  the  cat  ran  and  the  rats  ran. 
Now  for  a  nice  game  !  I  am  going  to  let  Frank 
make  believe  he  is  a  cat,  because  he  is  the  largest 
boy,  and  all  the  rest  may  be  rats.  No\v,  then,  the 
rats  may  start  and  run  round  the  table,  and  the  cat 
may  run  after  them.  Quick  !  "  This  is  great  fun,  and 
the  cat  and  rats  start  off  at  full  speed.  When  they 
return  they  are  bright  and  animated  with  the  exer- 
cise. "  Now,  tell  me  quickly  what  you  did  just 
now."  tb  We  ran."  "  But  the  cat  didn't  catch  me," 
says  one  "  Yes,  you  all  ran.  Look,  see  what  the 
chalk  says,"  —  ran,  ran,  ran  is  written  hastily  on  the 
board.  All  say  the  word  over  and  over  again. 
u  Now,  children,  it  says  /  ran,  I  ran,  now  a  cat  ran, 
a  dog  ran,"  etc.  The  teacher  compares  rat  with 
ran,  and  then  turning  suddenly  says  :  "  Now,  you 
mav  all  run  to  vour  seats." 


l6  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

After  the  words  a  boy,  a  girl  have  been  taught,  in- 
troduce a  few  familiar  proper  names —  Frank,  Tom, 
Max,  Nell,  Ann,  etc.  It  is  an  easy  matter  after  a 
few  object  and  action  words  have  been  introduced 
to  teach  the  quality  words.  A  very  fat  pig  can  be 
drawn  and  compared  with  a  lean  one,  a  large  hat 
with  a  small  one,  etc.  If  the  teacher  should  tell  a 
story  about  a  boy  who  robbed  a  bird's  nest,  and  then 
ask  the  question,  Was  he  a  good  or  a  bad  boy  ?  the 
desired  word  would  be  almost  surely  spoken  by  the 
children. 

We  will  now  suppose  all  the  words  under  the 
heading  "  First  and  Second  Months "  have  been 
properly  developed.  The  pupils  have  by 
this  time  a  vocabulary  of  fifty-five  words, 
and  can  tell  them  simply  or  in  sentences.  The  les- 
sons will  now  be  conducted  on  a  little  different  plan 
from  that  employed  when  only  one  or  two  words 
were  known.  At  the  end  of  the  second  month  we 
will  suppose  the  teacher  to  be  again  before  her 
class.  The  children  now  know  what  these  lessons 
are,  and  spring  eagerly  forward  at  the  mention  of 
Johnnie's  or  Nellie's  class.  Turning  quickly  to  the 
board  the  teacher  says  :  "  We  will  have  a  story  this 
morning  about  a  good  boy  (the  italicized  words  are 
put  on  the  board  and  told  by  the  class)  of  the 
name  of  Tom.  This  boy  lived  on  a  farm  in  the 
country.  Now,  he  had  a  great  many  things  to  do ; 
he  had  a  fat  pig,  an  old  red  cow,  a  white  hen  and 
some  chicks,  and  a  big  ox  to  feed  and  take  care  of 


REVIEW.  17 

every  day.  One  day  he  took  a  walk  into  the  woods 
with  a  little  girl.  Who  do  you  think  she  was  ?  Yes, 
his  sister,  and  she  took  her  doll  with  her,  and  a 
large  fan,  too,  for  it  was  very  warm.  'Their  little  dog 
Jip  went  with  them,  and  did  a  great  many  funny 
things.  They  saw  a  sly  fox,  and  Jip  ran  after  him 
for  a  long  way,"  etc.  And  so  the  story  might  con- 
tinue until  all  the  words  are  brought  in.  The  next 
day  an  entirely  different  story  may  be  told.  This, 
however,  is  only  one  of  the  many  ways  of  reviewing 
the  words.  They  may  fill  the  rounds  of  a  red  lad- 
der, be  packed  into  a  blue  trunk,  or  put  into  a 
basket,  or,  what  is  still  more  interesting,  be  hung  on 
the  branches  of  a  Christmas  tree.  Aim  to  give  the 
children  a  variety  of  exercise  ;  try  to  do  something 
different  in  each  lesson. 

In  the  "third  month  "  the  words  are  a  little  more 
difficult,  but  the  ideas  they  express  are  still  familiar. 
Many  of  these  object  words  would  naturally  Third 
come  into  the  same  story.  Frank  might  Month, 
catch  a  fish  in  the  pond,  and  put  it  into  a  pail.  A 
Jrog  might  jump  into  the  water,  a  ship,  swan,  or  duck 
might  be  seen  on  the  water,  etc.  At  the  end  of  the 
second  month  the  child  is  able  to  begin  to  read  from 
the  chart;  during  the  third  month  he  can  read  the 
first  half.  The  printed  words  must  be  compared  with 
the  script,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  third  month  the 
class  will  be  able  to  put  into  script  on  their  slates 
the  printed  stones  on  the  chart.  When  this  is  done 
much  .will  have  been  accomplished,  and  the  class 


1 8  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

will  take  up  the  book  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
month  with  little  difficulty. 

During  the  progress  of  the  development  method 
in  teaching  reading  and  language  at  the  same  time, 

the  pupil  is  learning  to  write.  Begin  on 
Writing 

his  entrance  to  school  with  the  letters  com- 
posed of  the  simplest  strokes,  like  //  and  //,  /  and  e, 
written  on  slates  ruled  with  lines  not  less  than  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  apart.  Teach  a  large  round 
hand.  It  can  hardly  be  too  large  to  overcome  the 
pupil's  tendency  to  write  a  small  contracted  hand. 
Before  the  words  of  the  "  first  and  second  months  " 
are  developed,  the  pupil  will  be  able  to  write  them, 
certainly  the  simplest  of  them.  When  the  chart  is 
taken,  he  will  write  most  of  its  sentences,  at  least 
two  or  three  of  each  page.  Teach  also  as  early  as 
possible  the  capitals  A,  which  begins  an  army  of  sen- 
tences, and  I.  As  soon  as  the  script  words  of  the 
board  are  compared  with  printed  words  upon  the 
chart,  teach  the  pupil  to  connect  the  two  in  their 
minds,  and  note  their  correspondence  and  differ- 
ences. Teach  the  class  to  hold  the  slate  pencil 
exactly  as  you  would  teach  them  to  hold  a  pen  if 
you  were  teaching  penmanship.  See1  that  the  slates 
He  upon  the  desks,  and  do  not  rest  on  the  child's 
lap  and  the  edge  of  the  desk.  Write  a  copy  for 
the  class  on  the  board  in  a  round  hand,  more  care- 
fully executed  than  is  possible  in  the  hurried  man- 
ner of  developing  words.  Let  the  class  practice 
the  use  of  cravon  on  the  board,  and  in  such  exer- 


WRITING.  19 

cise  teach  an  easy  swinging  method  of  making 
curves,  ovals,  and  circles.  Continue  this  in  higher 
grades,  to  counteract  the  cramping  tendency  of 
copy-books  and  paper,  where  pupils  think  they  must 
be  particular  and  so  hold  the  pen  as  in  a  vice,  with 
effects  fatal  to  freedom  and  elasticity.  When  your 
other  duties  permit,  see  how  the  class  write  by  look- 
ing at  their  work  when  it  is  in  progress.  Continue 
this  inspection  in  all  grades,  and  do  not  let  your 
pupils  learn  to  apply  the  proverb  of  the  Russian 
peasants  to  excuse  their  shiftlessness :  "  Heaven  is 
high  and  the  czar  afar  off."  Gradually,  as  the  year 
goes  on,  the  first  grade  will  learn  to  write  all  that 
they  read.  Make  this  the  end  and  aim  of  your 
work  in  writing,  which  should  be  to  connect  it  with 
and  make  it  a  part  of  reading  and  language-exer- 
cise, or  rather,  one  of  the  departments  of  the  devel- 
opment of  language  in  the  pupils  committed  to  your 
care.  To  teach  children  to  read  what,  after  a  proper 
time,  they  cannot  write,  is  like  a  boy  walking  on  stilts 
of  unequal  length. 

The  child  has  now  been  taught  to  read,  through 
the   medium   of  language-exercises  of  the  most  im- 
portant character.     Not  only  has  he  gained 
a  large  number  of  ideas  and  found  symbols 
for  their  expression,  but  he  has  prepared  himself  to 
apply  to  oral  expression  those  symbols  when  printed, 
which  we  call  reading. 

Having  been  taught  to  talk  easily  and  naturally  he 
reads   naturally,  and  as  if  he  were  talking.     From 


2O  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

this  time  the  teacher's  task  is  easy,  and  reading 
becomes  as  natural  an  exercise  as  talking.  A  sen- 

o 

tence  with  the  question-mark  presents  no  difficulty, 
because  the  pupil  was  taught  to  modulate  his  inflec- 
tion in  asking  a  question  while  he  was  engaged  in 
the  development- work  upon  the  board.  In  reading 
from  the  chart  do  not  point  to  words  separately,  or 
one  by  one.  That  habit  causes  the  pupil  to  merely 
pronounce  the  individual  words  of  a  sentence,  —  I-scc- 
a-cat,  —  which  is  not  reading.  Let  the  pupil  read 
each  sentence  silently,  then  aloud  as  a  whole.  The 
success  of  your  entire  year,  and  that  of  teachers  to 
follow  you,  depends  upon  a  direction  so  simple  and 
yet  so  necessary.  When,  however,  your  pupils  have 
read  the  chart  intelligently,  they  are  ready,  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth  month,  to  take  a  book,  and  the 
work  of  language-exercise  goes  on  under  new  con- 
ditions, but  on  the  same  principles  and  with  similar 
results. 

When  the  book  is  to  be  introduced,  call  a  squad 
into  the  floor  and  hand  them  the  primers  from  your 
desk.  They  will  thank  you  for  them  as  for  any  gift. 
Select  the  new  words,  and  put  the  first  one  on  the 
board.  If  none  know  it,  tell  its  name  and  meaning. 
Place  it  in  a  sentence,  or  let  the  children  do  so.  Do 
not  tell  the  new  word  if  they  can  discover  it  them- 
selves. Suppose  the  first  sentence  is :  "  The  bird 
sits  on  the  branch  of  the  tree."  All  the  words  but 
branch  you  know  to  be  familiar  to  the  class.  Ask 
where  the  bird  is.  "  On  the  tree,"  some  will  say. 


READING.  21 

"  Yes,  but  on  what  part  of  the  tree  ?  "  "  On  the 
limb,  branch,  twig,"  will  be  the  various  answers.  If 
the  word  branch  does  not  appear,  draw  a  tree  and 
teach  the  new  word  from  the  picture.  Let  the  class 
rind  the  new  word  in  the  lesson.  When  they  take 
their  seats  they  will  write  such  words  more  than 
once.  When  on  the  floor,  teach  them  to  talk  in  such 
a  way  as  to  bring  in  the  new  words.  Do  not  lose 
sight  of  the  fact  that  the  reading-lesson,  like  all 
your  work,  is  a  language-exercise  ;  and  develop  new 
words  in  the  book  in  the  same  manner  as  those  on 
the  card.  Ask  pupils  questions  which  can  be  an- 
swered by  short  sentences.  Avoid  such  as*  may  be 
answered  by  merely  yes  or  no,  or  by  a  repetition  of 
the  thought  of  the  question.  So,  in  higher  grades, 
do  not  recite  the  pupil's  lessons  for  him,  leaving  him 
to  approve  of  your  statements  by  a  monosyllable. 

See  that  every  pupil  reads  each  sentence  silently. 
Then  let  each  out  of  turn  read  a  sentence.  Then 
let  the  story  be  read  in  turn  from  the  beginning. 
Each  pupil  thus  reads  the  whole  story  silently  for 
the  thought,  and  two  sentences  at  least  for  oral  ex- 
pression. When  that  is  done  let  the  class  close 
books  and  tell  the  story.  They  can  then  run  to 
their  seats  and  write  what  they  can  remember,  or 
such  sentences  as  the  teacher  may  prescribe.  Let 
them  recall  the  story  of  the  previous  clay,  and  write 
it  in  their  own  language. 

Teach  all  words  phonetically,  and  use  diacritical 
marks  at  your  discretion.  Phonic  drill  tends  to 


22  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

open  the  mouth,  a  very  important  habit.  Each  word 
Phonic  Ex-  when  taught  should  be  distinctly  pronounced 
ercise.  by  the  teacher,  making  each  sound  sepa- 
rately. The  class  must  then  imitate  her.  Train 
them  to  open  the  mouth  from  the  first  day.  Timidity 
on  entering  school  closes  the  mouth,  and  confirmed 
bad  habit  produces  mumbling.  First  make  children 
feel  at  home,  then  make  them  speak  distinctly.  In 
all  grades  make  them  look  at  you  when  they  recite, 
and  not  at  the  window.  The  seeds  of  bad  habits  of 
enunciation  and  recitation  in  grammar  grades  are 
sown  in  the  first  years  of  school  life.  ^ 

Do  not  allow  the  child  in  reading  to  say  thugh- 
book,  ugh-cat.  This  is  not  a  part  of  the  "  New 
Thiigh-  Education,"  although  new  teachers  have 
book.  done  that  system  great  injustice  by  suppos- 
ing it  to  consist  in  substituting  thugh-book  for 
the-book,  and  ugh-cat  for  a-cat.  Neither  is  correct ; 
nor  is  thugh  pronounced  separately  any  improve- 
ment upon  the.  The  proper  pronunciation  is  that 
suggested  in  the  "  Manual  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion "  of  New  York  City  :  When  the  child  reads 
the  in  a  sentence,  as,  See  the  cat  and  the  dog  play,  let 
him  pronounce  it  with  the  following  word,  as  if  it 
formed  the  first  syllable  of  that  word,  speaking  the 
lightly  as  [e]  in  the  words  e-vent' ,  e-vade'.  The  a, 
when  used  as  a  word  in  like  circumstances,  should 
be  pronounced  like  a  in  a-miise'. 

Language  has  hitherto  been  considered  in  connec- 
tion with  reading ;  but  language  lessons  as  such  should 


LANGUAGE    EXERCISES.  23 

simultaneously  form  a  part  of  every  day's  work. 
They  begin  with  a  child's  entrance  to  school ;  Language 
for"  making  him  talk  "  is  but  a  language  les-  Exercises, 
son  in  disguise.  These  lessons  have  as  objects  opera- 
tion of  Hie  senses,  quickening  of  the  imagination, 
proper  expression  of  ideas  gained  by  the  senses,  the 
use  of  new  idioms,  etc.  They  are  to  be  given  to  a  squad 
of  ten  or  twelve,  not  to  the  whole  school.  The  time 
of  each  lesson  will  be  about  fifteen  minutes.  The 
manner  and  style  in  which  these  lessons  are  given, 
and  their  results,  will  largely  depend  upon  each 
teacher's  originality.  The  following  hints  may  be 
useful  :  Present  a  picture,  and  let  the  children  look 
at  it  closely.  Ask  them  to  tell  you  what  they  see. 
He  sure  everything  is  mentioned,  and  in  complete 
sentences,  as,  /  sn  a  dog,  not  a  dog,  a  cat.  Then 
lead  them  on  by  saying  :  "  I  think  the  dog  will  catch 
the  cat."  They  will  naturally  follow  by  :  "  I  think 
the  cat  will  climb  the  tree,"  etc.  Aid  pupils  by  the 
use  of  the  interrogatives  who,  which,  what,  where, 
what  kind*  how  many,  wJiy.  Children  should  give 
sentences  including  all  the  objects  in  the  picture, 
their  color  and  position,  what  they  are,  where  they 
have  been,  what  they  are  doing,  or  have  been  doing, 
what  they  are  made  of  (if  animals,  their  habits,  uses, 
etc.).  If  children  are  represented,  let  the  class  give 
their  names,  where  they  live,  what  they  probably 
have  at  home,  etc.  Pupils  find  difficulty  in  learning 
«ind  properly  using  brief  idiomatic  expressions. 
They  may  best  be  taught  by  picture  lessons.  The 


24  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

following  should  constantly  be  brought  in  and 
spoken  so  many  times  that  they  become  perfectly 
familiar  :  This  is,  it  is,  here  is,  there  are,  she  has,  they 
have,  I  think,  I  see,  etc.  Give  several  lessons  from 
one  picture.  In  the  first,  note  in  a  general  way  all 
the  objects  in  the  picture,  the  names  of  which  may 
be  written  on  the  board.  Next  notice  the  quality, 
color  (if  animals,  their  habits  and  uses)  ;  thirdly,  the 
position,  what  they  are  doing,  where  they  are  going, 
etc.  In  each  successive  lesson  on  the  picture,  re- 
view all  that  has  been  said  before.  The  following 
exercise  was  given  by  a  teacher  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  first  year.  One  day  she  took  a  picture 
representing  an  old  sheep  and  a  lamb.  A  tall  girl 
with  a  red  dress  was  giving  the  sheep  some  grass 
from  her  hand,  while  a  large  boy  was  holding 
his  baby  brother  on  the  sheep's  back.  -The 
babv  had  a  lon<r  stick  in  his  hand,  and  his  hat 

^  o 

(yellow)  was  on  the  ground.  The  children  were  ap- 
parently in  the  field,  and  the  house,  barn,  trees, 
fence  could  be  seen  in  the  distance.  The  class 
spent  about  ten  minutes  in  the  morning  talking 
about  the  picture,  noticing  the  objects  in  it  in  point 
of  color  and  size,  and  the  following  words  were 
written  on  the  board  near  the  picture  :  old  sheep, 
sheep's  back,  little  lamb,  brother*  baby  boy,  whip, 
hand,  tall  girl,  red  dress,  yellow  Jiat,  green  grass,  barn, 
field,  house,  trees.  Many  of  these  words  were  famil- 
iar to  the  children  ;  nevertheless  they  were  all 
written,  and  were  copied  several  times  until  the 


LANGUAdK    KXKKCISKS.  25 

pupils'  slates  were  full.  The  words  were  then 
erased,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  class  wrote  the 
names  of  all  the  objects  they  could  see  in  the  pict- 
ure from  memory.  They  wrote  correctly  most  of 
the  words  they  had  copied  in  the  morning.  They 
were  familiar  with  all  the  idioms  referred  to  else- 
where (this  is,  it  is,  etc.),  so  that  in  the  afternoon 
they  wrote  stories  about  the  objects  they  could  see 
in  the  picture,  and  such  sentences  as  the  following 
were  produced  :  u  Here  is  an  old  sheep  and  a  little 
lamb."  "  I  see  a  baby  on  the  sheep's  back."  "  He 
has  a  long  whip."  "  I  see  the  brother."  "  He  is  a 
great  boy."  "  This  is  a  good  girl."  "  She  has  some 
green  grass."  "  She  has  a  red  dress  on."  "  I  see  the 
yellow  hat."  "  I  see  the  barn."  "  I  see  the  house." 
"  They  are  in  the  field."  These  were  disconnected, 
but  in  almost  every  case  correct,  beginning  with  a 
capital  and  ending  with  a  period.  The  teacher  cop- 
ied such  sentences  as  could  be  used  later,  and  the 
stories  were  erased.  The  next  day,  when  the  teacher 
suggested  another  talk  about  the  picture,  all  were 
interested  and  eager.  Having  noted  the  objects  in  the 
picture,  the  class  were  ready  to  talk  about  the  story 
it  contained.  They  were  told  to  look  at  the  picture 
for  a  few  moments,  and  think  what  the  children 
were  doing,  what  their  names  were,  etc.  In  less 
than  a  minute  every  hand  was  up,  and  these  stories 
were  given  orally  in  quick  succession  :  "  I  think  the 
big  bov's  name  is  Frank  and  the  little  bov's  name 

O  *  j 

is  Johnnie."      "  Frank  is  giving  his  baby  brother  a 


26  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

ride."  "  Johnnie  likes  to  sit  on  the  sheep's  back, 
it  is  so  soft."  "  Nell  is  feeding  the  old  sheep." 
"The  little  lamb  is  hungry,  too."  "The  little  boy 
has  a  whip  in  his  hand  ;  I  think  he  will  hit  the 
sheep."  "  The  little  boy's  hat  has  fallen  off."  "  I 
think  they  all  live  in  that  house."  "  When  it  is  night 
the  sheep  and  the  lamb  will  go  into  the  barn," 
Many  more  sentences  are  given,  and,  the  ten  minutes 
having  expired,  the  teacher  tells  the  children  to  take 
their  seats  and  write  all  the  stories  they  have  told, 
everything  they  can  think  of  about  the  picture.  The 
teacher  wrote  on  the  board  such  words  as  they  had 
used  in  their  oral  stones  and  were  unable  to  write, 
but  which  they  would  need  to  use  in  writing  :  viz., 
Frank,  Johnnie,  Nellie,  sheep^s  back,  giving,  feeding, 
ride,  soft,  fallen,  live,  night,  etc.,  and  promised  to  write 
any  other  words  called  for.  When  the  slates  were 
examined  half  an  hour  later,  nearly  all  the  stories  told 
orally  were  written.  The  best  sentences  are  put  on 
paper  by  the  teacher,  and  the  slate-work  is  erased. 

The  next  day  the  teacher  asked  the  class  of  what 
use  the  sheep  was,  and  a  long  talk  followed.  Some 
one  knew  that  the  flesh  was  good  for  food,  another 
had  ideas  on  the  wool  which  grows  oh  the  sheep's 
back.  They  were  told  how  sheep  are  washed  and 
sheared,  and  the  wool  put  into  bags  and  sent  to 
mills  in  Clinton  and  woven  into  cloth  by  the  parents 
of  some  of  the  class.  A  piece  of  wool  was  shown, 
and  the  boys  were  told  that  their  jackets  were  made 
of  it.  The  children  were  much  interested,  and 


LANGUAGE    EXERCISES.  2/ 

gained  some  information,  but  they  were  unable  to 
write  many  stories,  their  vocabulary  not  being  large 
enough  to  enable  them  to  write  a  composition  on  Wool. 
Such  short  sentences  were  obtained  as:  "There 
is  wool  on  the  sheep's  back."  "  It  is  thick,  it  is 
soft,  it  is  warm."  "We  make  cloth  of  it."  "My 
coat  has  wool  in  it."  "The  wool  will  keep  us 
warm."  But  when  the  teacher  questioned  them  the 
next  day,  they  remembered  all  they  had  been  told. 
For  a  "final  lesson  a  review  was  made  of  all  the  pre- 
vious lessons,  and  the  following  story  was  written  on 
the  board  for  the  children  to  read  over  and  copy  ac- 
curately. This  story  is  composed  entirely  of  the  chil- 
dren's best  sentences,  which  were  taken  down  by  the 
teacher  when  the  lessons  were  given,  and  the  class 
so  understood  it.  As  the  teacher  wrote  the  first 
story,  she  said :  "  This  story  I  found  on  Mary's 
slate  ;  who  can  read  it  ?  "  and  so  on  :  — 

Here  is  an  old  sheep  and  a  little  lamb.  There  is  wool  on 
the  sheep's  back.  It  is  soft  and  white.  I  think  the  large 
boy's  name  is  Frank.  He  is  giving  the  little  boy  a 
ride.  His  name  is  Johnnie.  I  think  Johnnie  likes  T 
to  ride  on  the  sheep's  back.  He  will  not  fall  off.  He  has  a 
whip  in  his  hand.  He  will  hit  the  old  sheep.  The  little  boy's 
hat  fell  off.  I  can  see  Nellie.  She  is  feeding  the  old  sheep. 
She  is  a  good  girl.  She  has  a  red  dress  on.  She  will  give  the 
lamb  some  grass.  They  are  in  the  field.  Frank  will  put  the 
sheep  and  the  lamb  in  the  barn  at  night.  I  should  like  to  have 
a  little  lamb. 

Simple  lessons  on  the  domestic  animals  furnish  an 
excellent  subject  for  language-exercise. 


28  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

Take  the  cat,  for  instance.     Ask  the  children  to 
name  and  tell  you  about  its  different  parts.     If  all 

the  teacher  gets  from  them  is  merely  I  see 
The  Cat  as 
Object  Les-^'  ears,  I  see  the  feet,  etc.,  the  lesson  will  be 

son-  of  but  little  use  ;  but  if  the  teacher  should 

ask  if  the  cat's  eyes  are  different  from  ours,  tell  them 
to  notice  her  eyes  when  the  sun  shines  or  when  it 
is  dark,  explain  how  and  why  she  sees  in  the  dark, 
call  attention  to  the  sharply-curved  pins  in  her 
cushioned  paws,  ask  what  she  does  when  she  is 
happy  or  irritated,  notice  the  rough  tongue,  call  out 
the  sly,  furtive  habit  of  approaching  her  prey,  and 
her  deceptive  amiability  ;  the  cat  will  be  invested 
with  a  new  interest  in  the  child's  mind,  and  will 
undergo  thorough  inspection  at  home.  In  all  this  do 
not  tell  them  anything  they  can  discover  as  facts  for 
themselves.  Make  a  list  of  animals,  grouping  those 
with  hoofs,  with  horns,  etc.,  and  write  down  a  brief 
synopsis  of  their  uses,  habits,  whether  wild  or 
domestic,  where  found,  how  caught,  how  tamed, 
Not  less  than  in  higher  grades  is  preparation  neces- 
sary in  Grade  I.  for  a  proper  presentation  of  the 
subject-matter  of  instruction. 

In  addition  to  these  special  language  lessons,  cer- 
tain general  exercises  should  be  given  once  or  twice 

o  o 

a  week  during  the  first  three  or  four  months 
General      Q£  sc]looj  }jfe       They  should  be  short,  occu- 
pying five  or  six  minutes,  and  should  include 
the  entire  school.     The  purpose  of  these  lessons  is 
to  bring  children  to  talk  freely,  to  observe  closely 


GENERAL    EXERCISES.  2Q 

what  they  see,  and  to  be  able  to  describe  it,  and  to 
bring  out  original  sentences  from  all.  Take  the 
children  as  soon  as  they  come  in  from  the  play- 
ground. Ask  one  who  is  apt  to  talk  what  he  has  been 
doing.  His  description  of  some  game  he  has  en- 
gaged in  will  lead  others  to  join  in  the  conversation, 
unconsciously.  Ask  the  children  when  they  say 
good-by  to  remember  to  tell  something  next  ses- 
sion that  they  saw  on  their  way  home,  the  color, 
size,  etc.  As  the  subject  of  another  conversation 
ask  how  they  spent  the  last  holiday ;  ask  them  if 
they  have  ever  been  to  Boston,  New  York,  to  the 
nearest  city,  into  the  country,  or  to  the  seashore. 
Let  them  tell  their  experiences,  what  they  did  or 
saw.  By  asking  questions  bring  them  to  tell  what 
they  have  at  home,  their  pets,  playthings,  and  about 
the  baby.  Let  them  put  their  heads  down  on  their 
desks  and  dream,  then  rise  and  relate  their  dreams. 
This  cultivates  their  imaginative  as  well  as  conversa- 
tional powers.  Perform  some  act,  or  let  the  chil- 
dren do  so.  Some  one  will  be  called  upon  to  tell 
what  was  done,  in  such  sentences  as  :  "  You  opened 
the  window  and  shut  the  blinds."  "  James  took  a 
block  and  put  it  on  John's  desk."  Let  them  think 
of  everything  that  can  run,  fly,  hop,  etc.  "  A  bird 
can  fly."  "  A  cat  can  run."  Try  guessing  and 
thinking  games.  Suggest  to  the  children  that  they 
make  pictures  on  their  slates,  giving  each  row  a  sub- 
ject. At  the  close  of  the  session  let  the  one  who 
has  the  best  picture  tell  all  about  it.  Tell  some  in- 


3O  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

te resting  story,  illustrating  it  by  drawing  as  you  pro- 
ceed ;  then  call  upon  them  to  repeat  the  story  next 
day.  Give  the  children  little  cards  with  one  object- 
word  written  upon  each,  and  let  them  make  sen- 
tences with  that  word  in  them.  Put  a  list  of  words 
on  the  board  ;  let  the  children  rise,  and  each  give 
a  sentence  with  one  of  those  words  in  it. 

Endeavor  to  make  all  their  lessons  in  drawing,  clay- 
modelling,  color,  and  number,  language  lessons,  re- 
quiring the  pupil  to  give  complete  answers  :  This  is 
a  sphere.  It  is  perfectly  round.  Three  blocks  and 
four  blocks  are  seven  blocks.  My  stick  is  yellow.  If 
you  put  blue  and  yellow  together  you  will  have  green 
color. 

VOCABULARY    OF   WORDS. 

This  vocabulary  contains  three  hundred  words  to 
be  developed  during  the  first  five  months  (twenty 
weeks)  of  school  life.  The  following  words  are 
not  included,  being  taught  or  pronounced  with 
object- words  :  a,  an,  the,  and  such  idioms  as,  this 
is,  it  is,  I  have,  I  see,  I  think,  can  you,  who  has,  let 
me,  etc. 

Object-words  may  be  changed  to  their  plural  form 
and  a  few  proper  names  added  from  time  to  time. 
Use  frequently  the  question-mark.  Make  reviews  by 
constantly  repeating  words  already  learned  in  con- 
nection with  new  ones. 

Words  preceded  by  the  asterisk  are  to  be  taught 
bv  association  in  sentences. 


VOCABULARY  OF   WORDS.  3! 

FIRST  AND  SECOND  MONTHS. 

Rat,  cat,  mat,  hat,  boy,  girl,  man,  fan,  pan,  top, 
ball,  hen,  pig,  cow,  bell,  mug,  tub,  kid,  dog,  doll, 
hay,  cup,  cap,  egg,  bird,  bee,  ox,  box,  fox. 

See,  ran,  hit,  sat,  catch,  get,  fed,  spin,  eat,  lay,  fly. 

White,  red,  fat,  big,  little,  pretty,  old,  sly,  good. 

*  Yes,  no,  not,  and,  at,  on. 

THIRD    MONTH. 

Horse,  oats,  lamb,  chair,  ship,  fish,  dish,  swan, 
pond,  duck,  book,  corn,  nuts,  nest,  tree,  chick,  kitten, 
milk,  cake,  frog,  water,  pail,  cage,  rabbit,  basket, 
grass,  bush,  rose,  branch,  hill. 

Lie,  look,  play,  sing,  jump,  go,  lap,  put,  build. 

Blue,  black,  happy,  small,  large,  bad,  new,  one. 
two,  three,  four,  long,  tall. 

*  Where,  very,  how,  but,  for,  to,  in,  with. 

FOURTH    MONTH. 

Sister,  brother,  boat,  lake,  slate,  desk,  door,  house, 
floor,  mouse,  trap,  eye,  face,  cheek,  mouth,  nose, 
hand,  morning,  night,  goat,  kite,  tail,  string,  school, 
home,  cart,  worm,  glass,  dress,  coat,  name,  game, 
bear,  paw,  bread,  apple,  spool,  robin,  crow,  wing. 

Beg,  buy,  fall,  take,  ask,  stand,  give,  work,  love, 
write,  read,  hide,  make,  row,  come,  drink,  ride,  walk, 
stop,  drop,  help,  hatch. 

Green,  nice,  funny,  warm,  poor,  five,  six,  seven, 
some,  bright,  sweet,  brave,  tame. 


32  HINTS    OX    LANGUAGE. 

*  After,  if,  that,  when,    here,    from,    too,    please, 
wish,  thank. 

FIFTH  MONTH. 

Sheep,  horn,  farm,  barn,  teacher,  papa,  mamma, 
baby,  wool,  wood,  stove,  candy,  snow,  wagon,  pony, 
stick,  summer,  winter,  drum,  sled,  playthings,  shell, 
sand,  plant,  leaf,  flower,  picture,  sun,  head,  ear, 
chin,  hair,  clothes,  flag,  boot,  clock,  ground,  knife, 
fork,  spoon,  plate,  lamp,  child,  friend,  lady,  rain. 

Help,  slide,  carry,  draw,  hold,  keep,  bring,  meet, 
hear,  grow,  tell,  strike,  swim,  throw,  buzz,  count, 
drive,  stay,  find,  hope,  shine. 

Polite,  best,  kind,  cross,  young,  great,  any,  eight, 
nine,  ten,  cold,  yellow,  brown,  dear,  pleasant,  hard, 
soft,  sick,  dark,  every,  still,  glad,  fast,  merry. 

*  Always,  well,  out,  much,  over,  into,  down,  then, 
there. 


GRADE  II. —  SECOND  YEAR. 

Read  carefully  the  preceding  pages.  Much  of  them 
concerns  your  work.  The  pupils  of  Grade  I.  have 
during  the  year,  since  their  entrance  to  school,  devel- 
oped the  words  on  the  card,  read  the  chart  and  all 
the  primers  in  the  market  at  sight.  They  are  now 
ready  to  enter  Grade  II.,  and  continue  their  growth 
in  language  in  more  extended  form.  They  have 
learned  to  read,  and  read  correctly  because  under- 


READING.  33 

standingly,  in  Grade  I.  From  this  time  on,  reading 
is  only  practice  in  whatever  grade  it  may  occur. 
The  method  is  not  different,  at  least  until  Grade  IV. 
is  reached.  New  words  are  taught  in  the  same 
manner  in  Grades  II.  and  III.  as  in  Grade  I.  The 
class  come  into  the  floor  without  having  seen  the 
lesson,  and  are  eager  to  read  a  new  story.  If  they 
had  studied  their  lesson  they  would  read  it  with  no 
interest,  any  more  than  adults  would  read  a  novel 
with  interest  the  second  time  in  the  same  day. 
There  is  not  on  this  subject  one  rule  for  the  man 
and  another  for  the  child,  but  in  the  tertiary  period 
of  education  it  was  not  thought  necessary  that  chil- 
dren should  be  interested  in  what  they  read.  If  it 
were  only  "good,"  and  they  read  it  without  stumb- 
ling, it  was  enough.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  sight- 
reading,  as  we  have  defined  it,  kills  machine  reading. 
It  is  no  more  necessary  for  a  primarian  to  study 
his  reading  lesson  (competent  instruction  being 
always  presupposed)  than  it  is  for  an  adult  to  study 
the  newspaper  he  intends  to  read  to  his  family.  In 
either  case  there  may  be  a  word  he  does  not  know. 
The  adult  consults  his  dictionary,  the  primarian  his 
teacher.  The  difference  is  only  in  the  source  of 
information. 

The  teacher  may  ask  a  few  questions  about  the 
picture  which  accompanies  the  lesson,  but  not  to  a 

great  extent,  for  when  the  book  is  read  at 

.    ,  ,  .  Reading- 

Sight    such    questions   are    properly    review 

questions.     It  will  be  better  for  her  to  say,  "  We  are 


34  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

going  to  read  about  a  picnic  the  children  had  in  a 
grove  near  the  house.  I  must  first  teach  you  a  word 
or  two  that  you  may  better  enjoy  the  story."  Write 
such  on  the  board.  Let  each  child  find  the  print 
word  in  the  book  corresponding  to  the  script  word 
on  the  board,  and  point  to  it,  pronouncing  it.  The 
teacher  explains  the  word,  or,  better,  she  draws  its 
meaning  from  the  class.  Make  each  word  as  familiar 
to  the  child  as  the  picture  or  object  is,  and  explain 
quality  and  action  words  as  in  Grade  I.  Let  the 
pupils  read  each  sentence  silently,  and  do  not  divide 
sentences  if  possible,  thereby  letting  the  voice  fall 
before  the  idea  is  complete.  (Hence  in  Grade  II., 
as  in  Grade  I.,  only  simple  sentences  should  be  used  ; 
the  semi-colon,  and  compound  and  complex  sen- 
tences belong  to  Grade  III.)  Struggle  against  the 
habit  or  inclination  of  dropping  the  voice  at  a 
comma.  In  some  schools  this  is  a  universal  blemish 
in  reading.  If  not  overcome  in  Grade  IF.,  where 
commas  are  properly  introduced  into  reading-books, 
it  will  disfigure  all  subsequent  attempts  to  read. 
Call  upon  pupils  out  of  turn  to  read  sentence  by 
sentence.  If  one  pupil  does  not  use  correct  expres- 
sion, emphasis,  or  inflection,  call  upon  a  second  or 
third  until  you  obtain  it.  That  is  better  than  sug- 
gesting it,  but  when  once  discovered  the  teacher 
may  dwell  upon  it,  and  call  upon  the  class  to  repeat 
the  phrase  or  sentence  correctly.  Beware  of  much 
recitation  in  common,  however.  It  is  a  relic  of  the 
machine.  It  helps  ignorance  hide  its  deficiency  by 


READING.  35 

silence.  It  is  particularly  odious  in  oral  spelling,  as 
it  begets  a  sing-song  and  listless  enunciation.  Have 
the  story  read  through  a  second  time,  as  in  Grade  I. 
Call  for  synonyms  in  the  case  of  new  or  difficult 
words,  especially  quality  or  action  words.  Opening 
a  second  reader  at  random,  we  find  such  words  as 
hovered,  darted,  flaxen,  peevish,  coward,  murmured, 
grandly,  puzzled,  uncoil,  quivered,  powdered,  delicate, 
prisoner,  civil,  ruffled,  tiny,  cunning,  sniffed,  timidly, 
These  words  neectexplanation  from  the  teacher,  be- 
cause no  amount  of  "  study  "  at  his  seat  would  give 
a  child  of  six  or  seven  years  an  idea  of  the  shade  of 
meaning  suggested  by  the  word  "  quivered "  or 
"murmured."  And  on  the  other  hand  to  tell  him 
the  words,  that  is,  to  pronounce  them  for  the  pupil, 
teaches  him  neither  the  idea  nor  its  symbol.  It 
only  supplies  for  the  moment  the  missing  link  in  a 
chain  of  disconnected  words.  Nevertheless  such 
so-called  "study,"  supplemented  when  it  failed,  as 
it  did  constantly,  by  the  teacher  pronouncing  the 
word,  was  once  considered  sufficient  to  produce 
good  readers.  Nor  is  sight-reading,  literally  inter- 
preted, any  better.  To  put  a  book  into  a  child's 
hand  and  tell  him  to  read  for  the  first  time  any  piece 
without  the  slightest  preparation  is  as  sensible  as  to 
ask  a  blind  man  to  describe  the  paintings  in  a  pict- 
ure gallery.  True  sight-reading  is  the  continuation 
in  higher  grades  of  the  development  method  of  the 
list  of  words,  illustrated  in  the  work  of  Grade  T. 
The  instruction  necessary  to  attach  an  idea  to  other- 


36  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

wise  meaningless  symbols  is  a  language-exercise. 
Look  upon  it  as  such,  and  reflect  that  it  gives  the 
reading  exercise  its  chief  value.  Sight-reading,  using 
that  term  always  in  the  sense  of  a  development 
exercise,  allows  opportunity  for  practice  in  language 
which  would  be  impossible  if  pupils  only  came  into 
the  floor  to  read  what  they  had  previously  studied, 
and  knew  by  heart,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
words  to  be  told  by  the  teacher.  But  legitimate 
sight-reading  as  an  aid  to  the  development  of  lan- 
guage, and  language-exercise  as  a  help  to  reading, 
take  the  pupil  hand  in  hand  through  this  and  each 
succeeding  grade. 

Do  not,  therefore,  in  this  or  any  grade,  tell  a  pu- 
pil to  spell  a  word  over  which  he  stumbles.  That 
may  give  him  the  pronunciation,  although  it  is  hard 
to  show  how  his  saying  see-a-tee  suggests  the  pronunci- 
ation cat.  Remember  that  it  is  not  pronunciation 
you  are  now  looking  for,  but  thought.  The  idea 
will  call  out  the  word.  The  word  will  not  suggest  the 
idea,  otherwise  he  would  not  have  stumbled.  Apply 
the  development  method  in  any  grade,  and  the  read- 
ing thus  produced  is  sight-reading,  and  sight-reading 
is  true  reading,  the  only  reading  worthy  of  the  name, 
It  is  not  supplanted  by  study  until  the  pupil  is  old 
enough  to  develop  the  thought  himself  assisted  by  a 
dictionary. 

Do  not  ask  the  meaning  of  a  single  word,  or  at- 
tempt to  define  it,  if  it  is  part  of  a  phrase,  or  if  it 
requires  some  other  word  in  the  text  to  complete 


SPELLING.  37 

its    meaning.     Define    two  or  more  words  together 

if  they  are  closelv  connected.      Avoid  tech- 

.     .  Definition, 

meal  definitions,  but  when  it  is  necessary  to 

give  one,  let  it  be  brief,  compact,  and  complete.  Be- 
ware of  loose  definitions,  and  do  not  use  the  word 
you  are  defining  or  any  part  of  it :  as",  Definition  is 
defining  a  word.  Such  a  definition  only  moves  you 
in  a  circle.  In  this  grade  begin  to  call  for  words  of 
similar  sound  but  of  dissimilar  meaning.  Use  sen- 
tences containing  such  words,  and  call  attention  to 
any  differences  in  spelling.  "  There  "  and  "  their  " 
are  sources  of  frequent  confusion.  Tail  and  tale, 
leaves,  scent,  close,  (also  "clothes"  mispronounced), 
hair  and  hare,  bear,  sew,  left,  here,  right,  are  but  a 
few  which  will  occur  to  the  teacher. 

When  the  whole  story  has  been  read  call  upon 
each  scholar  for  a  sentence  from  it,  of  original  form 
if  possible.  You  will  find  that  after  the  three  read- 
ings described  above,  the  class  will  know  the  entire 
story,  and  be  able  to  tell  it. 

Separate  spelling  from  reading.  Do  not  remove 
the  impression  of  the  story  by  a  mechanical  exercise. 
When  the  piece  is  read,  let  the  squad  on 
going  to  their  seats  write  the  abstract  of  it,  pe  mff' 
such  as  they  may  have  already  given  orally.  In  the 
meantime  the  next  squad  comes  out  and  takes 
the  books.  (Hence,  when  the  town  or  city  owns  the 
books,  a  dozen  copies  will  equip  a  class  with  read- 
ing material.)  Make  spelling  a  separate  exercise. 
Do  not  in  any  grade  think  your  pupils  will  under- 


38  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

stand  a  word  by  merely  spelling  it.  If  that  were  so, 
dictionaries  would  be  unnecessary.  Spelling  teaches 
pronunciation,  but  reading  has  ceased,  or  ought 
to  cease,  to  be  a  pronouncing  exercise.  Oral  spell- 
ing should  aim  at  producing  clear  enunciation  and 
correct  pronunciation.  Each  word  should  be  pro- 
nounced by  the  pupil  before  and  after  spelling,  but 
spelling  by  syllables  is  obsolete.  It  is  well,  how- 
ever, for  pupils  to  divide  the  word  into  syllables 
mentally,  making  a  slight  pause  between  each.  Oral 
spelling  should  be  a  review  of  the  week's  written 
work.  It  should  be  largely  occupied  with  words 
spelled  incorrectly  during  that  time.  Such  mistakes 
may  be  noticed  by  writing  them  on  the  board,  call- 
ing attention  to  them  and  then  erasing  them.  Let 
no  incorrect  word  remain  longer  on  the  board  in  any 
grade  than  is  necessary  for  correction.  "  When  seen 
too  oft,"  it  may  delude  into  permanent  error. 

The  language-work  in  Grade  II.  is  written,  just 
as  most  of  that  of  Grade  I.  is  oral.  It  is  first  written 
on  slates,  then  transferred  to  ruled  paper.  In 
inguage.  ^  early  part  of  the  year,  when  many  new 
words  are  presented  to  the  children,  an  exercise  like 
the  following  may  be  beneficial.  Write  upon  the 
board  ten  or  more  new  words  which  have  been  devel- 
oped during  the  reading  lesson,  and  let  the  class  put 
them  into  sentences.  The  following  words  may  serve 
ns  an  illustration  :  robin,  away,  thank,  send,  eel,  swan, 
jump,  happy,  mill,  almost.  When  the  class  has  giv- 
en the  following  sentences  orally,  the  teacher  will 


PICTURE    LESSONS.  39 

write  them  on  the  board :  "  The  robin  sings  sweetly." 
"  I  am  going  away  to-night."  "  I  thank  my  mother 
when  she  gives  me  something  to  eat."  "  My  sister 
will  send  me  to  the  store  after  school."  "An  eel 
is  a  funny  fish."  "A  swan  has  a  long  neck."  "  [ 
can  jump  over  a  stone  wall."  "  I  am  a  happy  little 
girl."  "  My  father  works  in  the  mill."  "  I  was  al- 
most late  at  school  this  morning."  Let  the  class 
copy  these  sentences  on  their  slates  ;  and  then  call 
upon  different  members  to  read  them.  In  all  such 
cases  reject  incomplete  sentences,  or  such  as  merely 
bring  in  the  required  word  with  one  or  two  others. 
Children  naturally  compose  short  sentences,  but  as 
their  ideas  expand  their  expression  of  them  should 
be  gradually  developed.  The  teacher  says  :  "  Give 
me  a  sentence  containing  the  word  discouraged \"  "  I 
am  discouraged,"  says  a  boy.  That  may  be  true, 
but  the  idea  is  incomplete,  however  perfect  the  sen- 
tence may  be.  No  one  can  be  discouraged  without  a 
cause  for  discouragement.  Therefore  a  sentence 
which  shall  contain  this  word  and  be  fully  expressed 
should  be  given  in  such  form  as  this  :  ""  I  am  dis- 
couraged because  I  cannot  read  as  well  as  Mary." 

Pictures  play  an  even  more  important  part  in  this 
grade  than  in  Grade  I.  because  the  work  to  be  done 
with   them   is   capable   of   greater    develop- 
ment.    Every  teacher  should  make  a  large     ^lcture 

Lessons. 

collection  of  good  pictures.     They  may  be 

cut  out  of   illustrated  papers    and    pasted   on   stout 

cardboard.       Pictures  of  animals  are    among  those 


4O  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

most  successfully  employed.  In  giving  a  lesson  to 
a  class  on  this  subject,  begin  by  taking  any  of  the 
domestic  animals,  as  all  children  are  more  or  less 
familiar  with  them,  and  will  therefore  talk  more 
freely  and  intelligently  about  them.  Remember  that 
in  these  exercises  you  are  endeavoring  to  t expand 
the  pupil's  power  of  expression.  You  do  this  by  ex- 
citing him  to  talk,  not  by  talking  yourself.  This  is 
true  of  language-work  in  all  grades.  With  young 
children  a  teacher  should  limit  herself  at  first  to  the 
most  obvious  and  best  known  features  of  animals, 
and  gradually  extend  her  range  of  instruction  as  her 
pupils  are  prepared  for  it.  The  following  lesson  on 
the  cow  was  given  to  a  class  during  the  first  month 
of  the  second  year.  Two  lessons  were  required  to 
complete  the  exercises,  the  first  being  devoted  to 
oral  expression  and  to  copying  all  new  words  by  the 
class,  the  second  to  written  work.  A  large  picture 
of  a  cow  was  procured,  one  that  the  class  could  easily 
see  (or  the  animal  may  be  sketched  on  the  black- 
board). Words  suggestive  of  the  different  parts  to 
be  talked  about,  as  Head,  Neck,  Horns,  Tail,  Teeth, 
Hoofs,  etc.,  were  written  around  the  picture.  The 
class  were  asked  if  any  of  them  had  ever  noticed 
a  peculiar  habit  which  cattle  have  when  standing 
in  the  barnyard,  or  when  lying  down  after  feeding. 
As  no  one  seemed  to  know  what  was  referred  to, 
the  teacher  told  them  about  the  cow  chewing  the 
cud.  Then  a  talk  followed  about  the  hoofs.  The 
horse's  hoofs  were  said  to  be  whole,  but  a  cow's  art 


PICTURE    LESSONS.  4! 

divided.  The  class  were  shown  a  picture  of  a  cow's 
hoof.  They  were  told  that  a  cow  rises  upon  her 
hind  feet  first.  The  several  uses  of  the  cow  were 
then  brought  out,  but  nothing  was  written  in  this 
lesson.  The  next  day  the  following  was  written  by 
the  class  upon  their  slates  from  the  previous  day's 
conversation  :  — 

The  cow  has  a  large  head,  short  neck,  and  long  tail.  She 
has  two  horns  on  her  head.  She  has  no  front  teeth  on  her 
upper  jaw.  The  color  of  the  cow  is  usually  red,  black,  or 
spotted.  Cows,  like  horses,  have  hoofs,  but  the  hoofs  of  the 
cow  are  divided,  in  horses  they  are  whole.  The  cow  eats  grass 
and  hay.  When  cows  lie  clown  after  feeding-  they  chew  their 
food.  This  is  called  chewing  the  cud.  The  cow  gives  us  good 
sweet  milk.  From  her  milk  we  make  butter  and  cheese.  Her 
flesh  we  use  for  food.  Leather  for  our  boots  and  shoes  is 
made  from  her  hide.  Her  horns  are  used  for  making  combs. 
Glue  is  made  from  her  hoofs.  Mortar  is  made  with  her  hair. 
Her  bones  will  be  made  into  the  handles  of  knives.  A  cow 
always  gets  up  on  her  hind  feet  first. 

This  exercise  may  either  be  written  by  the  class 
on  their  slates  from  memory,  and  then  corrected  in 
spelling,  punctuation,  capitalization,  etc.,  or  the 
teacher  may  write  the  story  on  the  board  and  the 
class  will  copy  it  on  their  slates.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, they  should  be  brought  to  compose,  so  that 
their  work  may  not  become  exclusively  a  copy  of 
the  teacher's  writing.  Faulty  sentences  given  by 
pupils  to  be  copied  on  the  board  and  written  on 
slates  should  be  corrected  at  once,  or  a  second  or 
third  pupil  should  be  called  upon  to  improve  upon 
the  mistakes  of  the  first. 


42  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

Let  pupils  in  Grade  II.  write  what  they  gave  orally 
in  Grade  I.,  accounts  of  visits,  synopses  of  stories 
they  have  read,  or  that  have  been  told  or  read  to 
them.  Plants  in  the  schoolroom  are  very  good 
sources  of  language  lessons. 

The  following  is  a  short,  original  description  of  a 
picture,  written  by  a  pupil  of  Grade  II. :  — 

Rose  and  Lulu  have  come  to  the  spring  to  get  some  water. 
They  have  a  pitcher  and  a  pail  to  get  the  water  in.  Rose  has 
picked  a  bouqet  (j/f).  I  think  the  water  in  the  spring  is  very 
cool.  Rose  is  standing  and  Lulu  is  sitting  on  a  stone.  They 
live  in  a  house  not  far  from  the  spring.  I  think  they  are  get- 
ting the  water  for  their  mamma.  o.  w. 

The  following  description  of  a  visit  to  the  sea- 
shore is  inserted  exactly  as  it  was  written  by  a  pupil 
of  Grade  II.,  as  an  exercise  in  composition  :  — 

T  went  to  Lynn  beach  last  summer.  I  had  a  very  nice  time. 
On  the  water  I  saw  a  good  many  ships.  I  picked  up  a  great 
many  little  shells.  I  found  one  big  shell  and  I  gave  it  to  my 
cousin  who  was  with  me,  and  she  put  all  her  little  shells  in  it. 
I  brought  home  all  the  shells  that  I  found.  We  walked  all 
around  the  sea-shore.  I  liked  to  see  the  tide  come  in.  We 
took  off  our  shoes  and  stockings  and  paddled  in  the  sea.  We 
stayed  only  one  day.  K.  J. 

As  the  number-work  in  Grade  I.  will  include  some 
notice  of  bodily  organs,  like  hands,  feet,  toes,  fingers, 
eyes,  ears,  etc.,  continue  this  in  Grade  II.,  and  lay 
the  foundation  of  that  knowledge  of  physiology  and 
hygiene  now  required  in  many  States  by  law. 

Letter-writing  can  be  profitably  begun  in  the  sec- 


LETTER-WRITING.  43 

ond  year,  and  forms  an  interesting  diversion  as  well 
as  a  practical  exercise.     Children  are  inter- 
ested in  whatever  seems  to  be  real ;  and  if 


they  can  send  their  letter  to  the  person 
addressed,  their  satisfaction  is  increased.  The 
following  letter  was  delivered  to  me  by  a  pupil  of 
Grade  II.  It  was  written  on  ruled  paper  with  a 
lead-pencil  :  — 

Clinton,  June  22,   1885. 

Dear  Mr.  Bent,  —  We  had  a  good  time  at  the  picnic. 
We  went  in  the  morning,  and  we  had  five  swings.  At  noon 
my  sister,  my  mother,  father,  and  my  little  brother  came.  Wre 
had  a  boat-ride  for  nothing.  Why  didn't  you  go?  You  would 
have  had  a  nice  time. 

Good  by.  v.  w. 

The  author  of  this  letter  had  learned  in  her  sec- 
ond school  year  how  to  begin  a  letter,  compose  and 
end  it  with  a  child's  expression.  All  that  may  follow 
from  this  time  on  will  be  but  practice  on  a  larger 
model.  Notice  the  use  of  the  hyphen,  and  of  other 
marks  of  punctuation.  Those  included  in  this  let- 
ter, together  with  the  surprise  mark,  complete  the 
punctuation  of  Grade  II.  They  have  seen  the  sign 
of  the  possessive  case  used  in  Grade  L,  and  will 
copy  it  from  the  teacher's  work  on  the  board. 
Teachers  must  be  satisfied  with  short  letters  on  such 
subjects  as  school,  what  pupils  do  Saturdays,  the 
games  they  play  at  recess,  etc.  The  statements  will 
be  crude  at  first,  and  will  be  confined  to  a  narrow 
range  of  topics.  When  those  are  exhausted  give 
them  easy  subjects,  and  insist  upon  their  keeping  to 


44  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

them,  Correct  ungrammatical  forms  of  speech  used 
by  your  pupils,  without  giving  any  reasons 
S°eech  therefor.  As  a  rule,  let  no  error  go  uncor- 
rected.  Do  not,  therefore,  give  out  more 
work  than  you  can  correct,  nor  correct  it  when  all 
interest  in  the  subject-matter  is  lost.  If  you  cannot 
correct  all  the.  compositions  or  exercises,  let  each 
scholar  correct  another's  ;  but  beware  of  trusting  too 
much  to  this.  It  is  not  probable  that  your  class  can 
do  your  work  for  you  successfully.  Were  this  the 
case,  you  would  be  no  longer  indispensable.  Do  not, 
then,  rely  on  pupils'  corrections  of  errors.  The  com- 
mon and  odious  forms  of  incorrect  expression  would 
be  generally  passed  over  by  them,  because  perfectly 
natural  and  too  familiar.  You  must  wage  a  con 
stant  warfare  against  such  vulgarisms  as  the  follow- 
ing :  ain't,  'taint,  got  to  for  must,  he  don't  (how  would 
he  do  not  sound  1),  lots  of,  he  done,  hain't  got  no,  be 
you,  I  seen,  was  you,  me  and  John,  Jie  gave  Frank  and 
I,  etc.,  together  with  whatever  errors  of  speech  may 
be  common  to  your  particular  locality.  Do  not 
think  it  necessary  to  give  the  reason  why  particular 
forms  of  speech  are  incorrect  or  vulgar.  Teachers 
stand  in  the  place  of  parents,  who  are  never  obliged 
to  give  a  reason  for  a  command  or  prohibition. 
Much  must  be  told  as  truth  in  all  grades,  the  rea- 
son of  which  would  be  inappreciable  to  pupils. 
Above  all  things,  set  a  good  "example  of  correct  speech 
in  your  own  conversation  with  your  class,  and  be- 
ware of  giving  them  an  opportunity  of  correcting  in 


NUMBER.  45 

you  what  you  have  been  endeavoring  at  other  times 
to  correct  in  them. 

In    dictated    language    lessons   read   the   story  in 
your  best   voice,   and    read    it  -but    once.     Let   the 

children  repeat  each  sentence  after  you  be- 

r  ...  i      i  M  i        •  Dictation. 

fore  writing  it.     See  that  each  child  writes 

very  slowly  and  carefully,  entirely  independently  of 
his  neighbor.  Walk  through  the  aisles,  and  notice 
how  pupils  hold  their  pencils.  Correct  on  the  spot 
all  improper  manipulation.  Use  long  pencils.  When 
they  are  more  than  half  used  take  new  ones. 
Never  let  children  twist  their  ringers  around  stubs. 
Never  allow  anything  but  the  pupil's  best  and  cor- 
rect effort  to  be  transferred  from  slate  to  paper. 

Number  lessons  should  be  language-exercises  as 
in  Grade  I.,  and  so  in  all  grades  not  using  a  book. 
It  may  be  necessary  to  use  objects  at  first ; 
but  gradually  accustom  pupils  to  think  out  3er' 

processes,  or  learn  mathematical  facts  independent  of 
association  with  objects.  The  power  of  association, 
as  has  been  said  of  literature  as  a  profession,  "  is  a 
good  staff,  but  a  bad  crutch."  Begin  in  Grade  II. 
to  throw  away  the  crutch  of  object-lessons  in  num- 
ber. Teach  numbers  from  ten  to  twenty  or  thirty, 
so  that  all  their  possible  combinations  will  present 
themselves  without  hesitation  as  facts  as  soon  as 
called  for,  with  a  certainty  that  three  sevens  are 
twenty-one,  and  cannot  by  any  possibility  be  twenty 
or  twenty-two.  If  this  is  not  thoroughly  learned 
in  Grade  II.,  it  will  be  necessary  for  some  other 


46  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

teacher  to  do  your  work  for  you.  Be  careful  to  do 
your  own  work  thoroughly,  and  do  not  attempt  the 
next  teacher's.  Sufficient  unto  the  grade  is  the 
work  thereof.  You  will  never  be  in  danger  of  teach- 
ing what  belongs  to  you  too  well. 

Do  not,  on  the  other  hand,  make  number-work  too 
abstract.  Children  like  to  "keep  store."  Enliven 
Abstract  number-work  by  concrete  examples  given  by 
and  Con-  pupils.  See  that  the  sentences  used  are 
crete,  correct  and  the  mathematical  combinations 
possible.  Do  not  in  this  or  any  other  grade  "  mul- 
tiply cats  by  dogs."  The  combinations  of  abstract 
numbers  are  always  abstract.  In  multiplication  the 
multiplier  must  be  abstract,  and  in  division  the 
divisor.  The  product  will  be  of  the  same  kind  as 
the  multiplicand,  and  the  quotient  like  the  dividend. 
Dollars  divided  by  dollars  will  not  give  sheep,  so 
that  it  is  better  in  all  grades  to  apply  concrete  ex- 
pressions, by  way  of  explanation,  to  the  result  of 
abstract  operation.  That  the  class  may  be  supplied 
with  concrete  examples  when  their  own  stock  is  ex- 
hausted, teachers  should  have  upon  their  desks  sev- 
eral primary  arithmetics  composed  of  practical  every- 
day examples.  When  the  teacher  puts  an  example 
to  the  class,  the  answer  should  be  a  number  simply, 
without  repetition  of  the  problem,  but  the  examples 
given  by  pupils  should  be  fully  and  correctly  ex- 
pressed by  them.  In  one  case  you  are  calling  for  a 
mathematical  fact,  in  the  other  for  a  language-exer- 
cise in  mathematical  form.  The  more  you  develop 


INK.  47 

this  power  of  expression,  the  greater  scope  and  play 
you  give  to  the  imagination  and  the  thinking  powers. 
In  no  other  subject  is  it  possible  to  lead  children  to 
do,  to  talk,  and  to  think,  as  in  number. 


GRADE   III.  -  -  THIRD  YP:AR. 

In  this  grade    the  pupil  begins  to  write  with  pen 
and  ink.     The  careful  formation  of  letters,  which  has 
been  studied  hitherto  with  slate  and  lead- 
pencils,  will  have  sufficiently  engrossed  his 
attention  without  diverting  it  to  a  substance  requir- 
ing special  care  like  ink.      It  is  claimed  that  writing 
with  pencils,  as  pencils  are  generally  held,  promotes 
a  cramped  and  awkward  method  of  holding  the  pen. 
,  If  that  be  so,  it  is  the  teacher's  fault.     Teach  pupils 
to  hold  long  pencils  as  they  will  later  hold  a  pen- 
holder.    A  child  can  be  taught  to  hold  a  slate-pencil, 
when  he  enters  school  exactly  as  the  teacher  wishes 
him  to  hold  it,  and  the  lead-pencil  follows  the  custom 
set  the  first  year  with  the  slate-pencil. 

As  the  pupil  begins  to  write  with  ink  it  is  conve- 
nient to  supply  him  with  a  writing-book,  and  the 
book  should  be  ruled  to  correspond  with  the  paper 
on  which  he  will  write  his  language-exercises.  Most 
systems  of  books  do  not  sufficiently  regard  the  great 
progress  which  has  been  made  in  the  amount  of 


48  HINTS    OX    LANGUAGE. 

writing  done  during'  the  early  years  of  school  life, 
so  that  the  pupil  is  in  advance  of  the  system,  and 
the  amount  of  writing  in  a  book  intended  to  last  six 
months  or  a  year  is  ridiculously  small  in  comparison 
with  that  accomplished  every  week  in  language-work 
under  the  supervision  of  progressive  school  authori- 
ties. But  here,  as  in  all  departments,  it  is  the 
teacher  with  a  large,  round,  plain,  unfiourishing 
hand  who  wrill  "  set  the  copy ''  for  the  youthful  pen- 
men of  to-day.  To  insure  uniformity  in  the  ascend- 
ing grades  it  will  be  advisable  to  have  a  chart  hung 
in  all  rooms  as  a  direction  to  the  eye,  but  it  is 
"  practice,  and  again  practice,  and  always  practice," 
which  makes  good  writers,  not  systems,  charts,  or 
copy-books.  Freedom  in  the  play  of  the  hand  and 
arm  is  apt  to  yield  to  a  cramped  fashion  of  using 
books  with  their  measured  strokes  and  mathematical 
precision.  Paint  two  or  three  slope  lines  across  as 
many  horizontal  lines  on  the  blackboard,  and  your 
writing  book  is  a  permanent  fixture.  Let  children 
write  capital  letters  upon  it,  to  gain  a  free  sweep  of 
the  hand,  and  see  that  the  position  of  writing  at 
their  desks  gives 'ample  play  to  the  fore-arm. 

The  language-work  in  Grade  III.  under  the  new 
conditions  of  pen  and  ink  assumes  greater  import- 
Readm  ance^  just  as  the  power  of  expression  has 
andNum-  been  expanding  by  means  of  the  practice  of 
ber.  the  two  preceding  years.  You  will  see  by 

reading  the  work  of  these  years  that  pupils  are  ready 
to  write  a  letter,  tell  a  story,  or  keep  a  store.  The  work 


KKADIXc;    AND    Xl'MIJER.  49 

of  each  year  is  a  development  of  that  already  passed. 
As  the  pupil's  powers  are  larger,  so  the  field  of  oper- 
ation is  more  extended.  The  employment  of  reading 
and  number- work  as  a  branch  of  language -exercise 
has  been  sufficiently  dwelt  upon.  Reading  is  still 
the  oral  expression  of  what  has  been  silently  mas- 
tered. In  Grades  II.  and  III.,  classes  will  read  all 
the  books  put  into  their  hands,  —  at  least  six  each 
year.  Number-work  is  concerned  with  tables,  with 
addition  into  hundreds'  place,  and  corresponding 
subtraction.  Add  to  this,  for  recreation  in  concrete 
calculation  and  mental  arithmetic,  the  simplest  tables 
of  money,  weights,  and  measures.  Alternate  the 
abstract  and  concrete  forms  of  operations  in  this  wray, 
and  continue  the  use  of  tables  for  mental  exercise 
after  taking  up  the  written  work  of  Grades  IV.  and  V. 
In  order  to  give  due  importance  to  language-exer- 
cise, and  to  include  all  its  forms,  it  may  be  well  to 
make  a  programme  of  work  extending 
through  the  week,  each  day  to  have  its  own  Lan&uaffe> 
peculiar  exercise.  Twenty-five  minutes  will  be  time 
enough  to  give  to  language  lessons  in  this  grade. 
Fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  may  be  occupied  by  pupils 
in  reading  their  exercises  and  listening  to  instruc- 
tion and  criticism  from  the  teacher.  For 
Monday's  lesson  the  pupils  are  asked  to  Monday< 
write  a  story.  Each  pupil  chooses  his  own  subject. 
The  following  is  a  specimen  :  — 

Once  as  I  was  walking  through  a  field,  I  met  a  poor  little 
girl.     I  asked  her  what  her  name  was   and  she  said   her  name 


5O  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

\vas  Katie  Brown.  Her  clothes  were  ragged  and  torn,  and  her 
lips  were  blue  with  cold.  I  asked  her  if  she  had  a  mother. 
She  said  her  mother  and  father  were  dead  and  she  was  left 
alone  to  seek  her  fortune.  Would  you  like  to  come  with  me  ? 
Oh  yes  said  the  little  girl  will  you  take  me  to  your  house  ? 
Yes  I  shall  be  glad  to  take  you  with  me.  Where  is  your 
house  said  the  little  girl.  My  house  is  up  on  that  hill.  I 
brought  the  little  girl  up  to  my  house  and  let  her  warm  herself 
I  gave  her  something  to  eat.  I  put  a  dress  of  mine  on  to  her 
and  told  her  she  could  keep  it.  She  lived  with  me  and  went 
to  school  every  day.  After  that  she  was  a  good  scholar.  And 
we  played  every  day  together. 

When  such  exercises  as  these  reach  the  teacher's 
desk,  she  will  see  that  no  use  has  been  made  of 
quotation  marks,  and  that  the  punctuation  must  be 
changed  to  correspond.  But  every  day  her  pupils 
have  been  reading  stories  full  of  conversations 
marked  and  punctuated  properly.  Their  attention 
has  not  been  called  to  such  points,  and  thousands  of 
pupils  finish  the  second  and  third  readers  every 
year,  and  have  been  "  drilled  "  on  the  pieces  until 
they  know  them  by  heart,  who  were  never  told  that 
such  a  thing  as  a  quotation  mark  existed.  When, 
however,  the  use  of  such  forms  of  punctuation  is 
understood,  pupils  will  write  conversations  as  readily 
r.s  plain  narrative.  For  instance,  the  teacher  may 
ask  John  to  tell  something  about  the  schoolroom. 
John  says,  The  schoolroom  has  four  windows.  The 
teacher  asks  the  class  to  write  the  statement,  the 
room  has  four  windows,  and  then  the  double  state- 
ment, John  says.  "The  room  has  four  windows," 


\\c;K.  51 

telling  them  to  look  in  their  readers  for  such  forms 
and  punctuation.  In  the  pupil's  exercise  just  given, 
the  quotation  is  divided,  —  u  Oh,  yes,"  being  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest  by  said  the  little  girl.  To  write 
it  correctly  requires  a  knowledge  of  capitalization 
and  punctuation  beyond  that  required  for  John's 
statement  concerning  the  windows.  Consequently, 
the  work  of  correction  will  be  taken  up  in  this  ex- 
ercise by  bringing  about  such  a  change  as  is  indi- 
cated by  this  form  :  "  Would  you  like  to  come  with 
me?"  "Oh,  yes!"  said  the  little  girl,  k<  Will  you 
take  me  to  your  house  ?  "  "  Yes,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
take  you  with  me."  "  Where  is  your  house  ?  "  said 
the  little  girl.  "  My  house  is  up  on  that  hill."  To 
accomplish  this,  more  than  one  Monday  will  be  nec- 
essary, but  the  pupils  of  Grade  III.  are  capable  of  it. 

The   teacher  for  Tuesday's   exercise   ex- 
....  Tuesday, 

limits    a    picture,  or   draws    one    upon    the 

board.  Each  pupil  writes  detached  sentences  de- 
scribing it,  as  follow  :  — 

Two  boys  are  in  a  boat.  The  boat  is  on  a  pond.  There  is 
a  dog  in  the  boat.  One  of  the  boys  has  lost  his  hat  in  the  water. 
The  other  boy  has  taken  off  his  coat.  The  dog  jumps  into 
the  water  and  gets  the  hat.  The  water  is  not  very  deep;  one 
boy  dips  his  hand  into  the  water.  I  think  the  water  feels  cool. 
I  hope  he  will  not  fall  in. 

The  mechanical  part  of  this  original  composition 
has  been  learned  in  Grade  II.  Still,  if  found  neces- 
sary to  dwell  upon  periods  and  capitalization,  the 
exercise  can  be  varied  with  dictation  work,  in  which 


52  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

the  attention  is  entirely  given  to  the  mechanical  por- 
tion and  to  spelling.  For  the  latter  purpose  let  John 
rise,  read  the  first  and  succeeding  sentences,  spelling 
each  word,  mentioning  capitals  and  punctuation. 
Change  slates  and  correct.  For  a  written  exercise, 
let  the  class  copy  that  description  of  the  picture 
which  exhibits  the  best  sentences  properly  executed. 
Later  in  the  year  the  class  will  connect  the  detached 
sentences  given  above,  or  others  like  them,  making 
a  narrative,  which  will  include  all  the  objects  shown 
in  the  pictures.  A  teacher  who  can  draw  will  easily 
make  a  picture  off-hand,  which  the  class  will  be 
eager  to  describe  in  answer  to  questions  which  she 
may  ask.  P^ncourage  the  children  to  bring  to  school 
pictures  or  advertisement  cards,  and  make  each  ex- 
hibition a  language-exercise. 

A  short  story  is  read  aloud,  on  Wednesday,  by  the 
teacher  once.    Then  the  pupils  write  as  much  of  it  on 

their  slates  as  they  remember.     They  write 
Wednes-     busijv    ten    or   fifteen    minutes.       Then    all 
day. 

stop  writing,  and  listen  while  several  of  the 

stories  are  read  aloud.  In  reading  aloud  nothing  is 
suggested  as  to  proper  mechanical  execution.  When 
the  class  comes  up  from  Grade  II.,  try  such  an 
exercise,  and  on  looking  at  a  few  slates  you  will 
quickly  see  what  they  know  about  punctuation  and 
capitalization,  and  what  they  must  still  be  taught. 
The  following  exercise  from  a  story  read  by  the 
teacher  shows  the  writer's  knowledge  and  i^no- 


LANGUAGE.  53 

A  fox  after  running  till  he  was  out  of  breath,  begged  a  man 
to  show  him  a  place  to  hide.  He  showed  him  his  hut  and  let 
him  hide  under  his  bed.  He  told  the  fox  he  would  not  tell. 
Soon  after  the  hunters  came  along  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
seen  the  fox.  He  shook  his  head  and  pointed.  The  fox  had 
just  time  enough  to  escape  out  of  a  window  that  was  on  the 
other  side  of  the  hut.  A  few  days  after  the  man  met  the  fox 
and  said,  why  did  you  leave  my  hut  for  without  thanking 
me  for  saving  your  life.  You  did  not  tell  the  truth  said 
the  fox.  I  did  not  tell  where  you  were.  No  said  the  fox 
but  you  pointed  that  is  all  that  deaf  and  dumb  people  do 
when  they  tell  lies. 

Thursday  is  correction  clay,  when  the  important 
features  of  the  week's  work  are  commented  upon. 

Keep  the    poorest  papers    and   copy  them 

Thursday, 
upon    the  board.      Let    the    pupils    correct 

them  aloud.     That  corrections  may   be  free,  do  not 

write    the  names  of  the    authors    of    the    exercises. 

• 

Fullness  of  spontaneous  correction  tests  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  class.  Note  failure  to  correct  certain 
mistakes,  and  bring  in  the  same  points  the  next 
week.  Corrected  sentences  can  be  written  on  the 
pupils'  slates.  Take  this  day  for  common  and  vul- 
gar errors,  correcting  what  has  been  improperly 
spoken  in  the  class-room,  or  what  passes  outside  for 
correct  speech.  Street  signs  furnish  an  amusing 
commentary  on  popular  knowledge  or  ignorance,  es- 
pecially the  use  of  the  apostrophe  as  a  sign  of  the 
plural,  where  no  thought  of  possession  is  intended. 
Pupils  make  very  good  critics  when  their  attention 
is  turned  in  the  proper  direction  ;  but  many  a 
teacher  who  "drills  "  her  class  on  the  names  of  all  the 


54  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGK. 

coral  reefs  of  the  South  Pacific  never  thinks  of  the 
familiar  misnomers  of  the  village  street,  or  the 
journalistic  freaks  of  the  special  reporter.  This  is 
also  an  appropriate  time  to  test  the  knowledge  of  the 
class  in  writing  sentences  from  oral  dictation.  Dic- 
tate sentences,  making  no  mention  of  capitalization 
or  punctuation,  calling  upon  the  class  to  supply 
them.  Teach  here  the  signs  of  the  possessive  case, 
both  in  the  singular  and  in  the  plural  of  regularly 
formed  words,  and  the  punctuation  marks  not  already 
familiar.  Avoid,  however,  definitions  of  the  posses- 
sive in  a  technical  form.  See  that  such  sentences 
are  written  properly:  "John  gave  William  and  [ 
Franks  shoes,  the  childrens  books,"  etc.  Continue 
the  correction  of  school  vulgarisms,  and  interest 
your  class  in  the  use  of  correct  forms  of  speech  In- 
making  error  ridiculous. 

Friday  is  letter  day.  When  the  letters  are  written 
let  them  be  directed.  It  may  not  be  practicable  to  sup- 
ply envelopes  for  each  week's  exercises; 
but  the  address  can  be  written  on  the  back 
of  the  folded  letter.  Change  the  style  of  address 
from  time  to  time.  Practice  in  this  grade  the 
different  forms  of  address  inside  the  sheet,  ac- 
cording to  the  degree  of  acquaintance  and  corres- 
ponding formality.  A  teacher  once  said  :  "  Write 
a  letter  to  your  mother  to-day;  make  believe 
she  is  away  from  home,  and  tell  her  what  has  hap- 
pened in  her  absence."  The  following  was  one 
response  :  — 


LAN(iUA(iK.  55 

CLINTON,  MASS.,  May  22,  1885. 

DKAK  MOTHER, —  I  am  going  to  tell  you  what  happened  at 
home.  Last  night  all  the  clothes  fell  down  on  the  ground  and 
they  got  dirty.  When  I  went  to  bed  I  heard  a  great  noise  in 
the  kitchen.  When  I  got  up  it  was  the  cat.  The  cat  broke  the 
sugar-bowl  and  a  cup,  and  she  broke  the  lamp  too.  I  planted 
some  seeds  when  you  went  away  and  they  are  very  nice,  they 
are  coming  up.  Mother  I  would  like  you  to  come  home 
Saturday  afternoon.  T  want  you  to  visit  my  school  Wednesday 
afternoon.  It  is  public  day.  I  am  going  to  speak  a  piece. 
Good  bye, 

Your  daughter,  L.    c. 

To  vary  the  week's  programme  a  lesson  like  any 
of  the  following  is  sometimes  given.     The  teacher 

O  O 

writes  upon  the  blackboard  a  short  story  or  part  of 
a  long  one.  The  sentences  are  written  incorrectly, 
capitals  are  misplaced,  punctuation  marks  omitted, 
words  misspelled,  etc :  "  A  man  caught  a  little 
fish  let  me  Go  sed  the  fish  til  i  am  larger,  i  shall 
soon  be  a  large  fish  Then  you  can  catch  Me  agen 
but  the  man  sed,  You  wil  then  no  to  much  too 
bite."  Sometimes  a  story  is  written  on  the  board 
in  the  following  manner,  and  the  pupils  copy  it  on 
their  slates,  supplying  the  words  omitted:  ''Torn 
and  —  lived  —  the  water  They —  not  swim  so 

-  mother  —  them  —  must  —  go     alone  —  the  — . 
Tom  —  a    good  —  and  —  as  —  was  - —  ;  but  —  went 

—  the  —  .      He  —  in  —  and  was  —  .       His    mother 
was  —  that —  did  —  mind,"  etc. 

Occasionally  divide  the  school    into  six  or  eight 
divisions  ;    give  each   division   a    different  word,   as 


56  HINTS    OX     LANGUAGE. 

palace,  princess,  queen,  etc.  Then  let  the  children 
when  called  upon  in  each  division  rise  and  give  a 
sentence  containing  the  word  assigned  to  their  di- 
vision. 

In  addition  to  purely  literary  work  in  Grade  III., 
continue  object-teaching  by  means  of  pictures. 
Allow  sentences  spoken  to  be  written  on  slates  or 
preserved  on  paper.  Thus  on  the  Lion  the  teacher 
will  call  out  these  facts,  supposing  that  the  children 
have  seen  a  lion  in  a  menagerie,  or  that  the  teacher 
lias  a  picture  of  one. 

The  lion  belongs  to  the  cat  family.  lie  comes  from  Africa; 
some  are  found  in  Asia.  They  live  in  pairs.  They  are  from 
six  to  eight  feet  long.  They  weigh  from  four  to  five  hundred 
pounds.  Their  color  is  a  tawny  yellow.  The  male  lion  has  a 
mane  of  long  hair;  the  female  has  no  mane.  They  have  thirty 
teeth,  sharp  and  pointed,  like  those  of  a  cat,  so  that  they  can 
tear  flesh  with  them.  They  have  a  rough  tongue  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  lion  has  great  strength  and  can  carry  a  calf  or 
sheep  in  his  mouth.  The  lion  springs  upon  his  prey  like  a 
cat.  He  can  spring  twenty  feet  at  one  bound.  The  lion  has  a 
terrible  roar.  At  night  he  causes  other  animals  to  tremble  by 
his  roar.  lie  can  see  well  at  night  like  a  cat.  He  swings  his 
long  tail  when  he  is  angry  like  a  cat.  His  tail  is  strong  enough 
to  strike  a  man  down  with  one  bl;;w. 

This  will  tell  the  class  something  arxmt  silk :  — 

Silk  is  the  web  of  the  silk-worm.  The  worm  feeds  on  mul- 
berry leaves.  After  eating  eight  weeks,  the  worm  begins  to 
spin.  The  thread  is  stronger  than  a  spider's  web.  The  worm 
spins  the  thread  around  itself  in  the  form  of  a  case.  This  is 
called  the  cocoon.  The  cocoon  is  about  an  inch  long.  The 
worm  is  an  insect  like  the  caterpillar.  It  changes  two  or  three 
times,  and  at  last  makes  a  hole  in  the  cocoon  and  tiies  out,  lay.- 


LANGUAGE.  57 

eggs,  and  dies.  To  prevent  the  worm  from  making  a  hole  in 
it  the  cocoon  is  placed  in  a  heated  oven;  the  insect  is  then 
killed.  .  The  threads  of  the  cocoons  are  loosened  in  hot  water, 
and  then  wound  upon  a  reel.  They  are  then  sorted  and  arc 
ready  for  spinning.  The  web  of  a  single  cocoon  is  from  three  to 
five  hundred  yards  long.  Silk  is  raised  in  Asia,  Europe,  and  in 
the  United  States,  and  is  manufactured  in  France  and  in  this 
country.  It  is  used  to  make  ribbons,  handkerchiefs,  gloves, 
stockings,  shawls,  dresses,  sewing-silk,  and  many  other  articles. 

Begin  geographical  instruction  in  this  grade. 
Apply  the  points  of  the  compass  to  the  schoolroom, 
and  names  to  local  geographical  objects,  il-  Geogra- 
lustratimr  without  much  definition  the  earth's  phy. 

o 

shape,  sunrise,  sunset,  horizon,  zenith,  etc.  Illus- 
trate ideas  of  boundary  and  distance  by  the  adja- 
cent towns,  even  by  objects  within  sight,  the  maps 
or  pictures  upon  the  walls,  etc.  Let  pupils  associate 
names  of  county,  state,  country,  with  their  own  town 
or  city,  and  begin  here  descriptions  of  local  indus- 
tries. Make  this  a  language-exercise  in  all  cases,  and 
see  that  facts  are  stated  in  the  form  of  full  and  gram- 
matical sentences.  As  "  busy  work  "  let  pupils  draw 
and  cut  out  triangles,  squares,  circles,  and  polygons. 
Show  their  differences,  but  avoid  technical  defini- 
tions. Continue  oral  instruction  in  physiology,  con- 
necting it  with  hygiene  (where  no  text-book  is  sup- 
plied), and  take  whatever  opportunity  offers  to 
inculcate  good  school  morals,  especially  kindness 
and  courtesy  to  schoolmates,  as  well  as  the  more 
obvious  requirements  of  cleanliness,  veracity,  and 
purity  of  word  and  act. 


5 8  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

It  is  important  that  the  memory  be  trained  in 
connection  with  language-exercise.  For  this  pur- 
Declama-  pose  the  teacher  of  Grade  III.  will  give 
tion.  out  verses  or  other  short  selections  to  be 

committed  to  memory  and  spoken  at  proper  inter- 
vals. Begin  with  a  single  verse  of  poetry,  because 
that  form  of  composition  is  more  attractive  to  the 
young  than  prose.  Avoid  long  selections  :  rather 
one  verse  a  day  than  a  long  poem  once  a  week. 
Select  the  best  authors.  In  Germany  the  children 
learn  at  school  the  ballads  and  lyrics  of  such  a  poet  as 
Schiller,  and  never  forget  them.  See  that  the  senti- 
ment is  as  pure  as  the  verse,  and  that  lessons  of 
patriotism,  charity,  courtesy,  generosity,  kindness, 
truthfulness,  humanity,  are  learned  from  those  who 
tell  us  :  — 

"  Never  to  blend  our  pleasure  or  our  pride 
With  sorrow  of  the  meanest  thing  that  feels." 


GRADES  IV.  AND  V. —  FOURTH  AND 
FIFTH  YEARS. 

As  there  is  no  particular  distinction  in  the  work 
of  these  grades,  they  are  united  for  our  present  pur- 
pose. The  general  course  of  instruction  changes 
here  ;  books  are  substituted  for  oral  instruction,  and 
primary  work  ceases.  Still,  in  language-exercise 


ORAL    METHODS.  59 

the  teacher  is  not  released  from  playing  the  leading 
role.  Her  work  in  this  department  must  continue  to 
be  largely  oral,  and,  that  it  may  be  successful,  she 
must  extend  the  domain  of  her  own  activity.  It  is 
true  that  the  dictionary  takes  the  place  of  the  teach- 
er's definition.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  she 
should  prepare  her  class  for  the  intelligent  use  of 
the  dictionary,  calling  attention  to  the  divisions  of 
words,  marks  of  accent,  signs  or  synonyms  of  pro- 
nunciation, and  whatever  may  be  technical  in  the 
particular  book  used.  Kach  pupil  should  be  pro- 
vided with  one,  or  the  unabridged  copy  on  the 
teacher's  desk  should  be  open  to  unrestricted  con- 
sultation by  the  class. 

Your  pupils  have  been  prepared  'in  the  lower 
grades  for  the  more  serious  tasks  now  before  them. 
See  that  they  are  not  lacking  in  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  the  comma,  period,  question  and  surprise 
marks,  hyphen,  apostrophe  in  its  various  uses,  quo- 
tation marks,  and  the  common  abbreviations.  They 
can  write  a  letter,  can  describe  with  a  certain  degree 
of  fullness  objects  or  pictures,  can  take  down  with 
reasonable  accuracy  what  is  read  to  them  of  simple 
style  and  diction.  They  know  something  of  geog- 
raphy, physiology,  color,  form,  measure,  relative 
sixe  and  distance.  They  have  obtained  information 
concerning  the  more  common  animals,  have  de- 
scribed their  uses  and  habits,  and  have  seen  how 
food,  clothing,  pleasure,  and  labor  are  procured 
from  them.  As  their  study  of  the  geographical  text- 


6O  HINTS    OX    LAX(iLrA(ii:. 

book  continues,  they  read  of  vegetables,  minerals, 
animals,  and  manufactures,  which  are  mentioned 
but  not  described,  belonging  to  countries  briefly 
noticed,  and  exported  from  cities  whose  names  are 
all  the  pupils  know  of  them.  This  vast  hiatus  be- 
tween what  is  told  and  what  is  untold  is  our  teacher's 
opportunity.  To  merely  mention  it  indicates  a  pro- 
gramme. This  consists  in  filling  out  the  bare  out- 
line of  the  text,  by  telling  what  the  things  are  whose 
existence  only  is  mentioned.  Thus  the  lumber 
product  of  Maine,  the  granite  quarries  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Massachusetts,  the  maple-sugar  and 
marble  product  of  Vermont,  the  fisheries  of  Massa- 
chusetts, the  manufactures  of  cotton,  ship-building, 
the  cure  and  manufacture  of  leather,  are  only  alluded 
to  in  books,  and  the  desire  to  know  is  stimulated 
but  not  satisfied  by  the  statement  that  Lowell  is 
called  the  Manchester  of  America,  or  that  Nan-tucket 
was  a  famous  whaling  port. 

The  teacher  has  in  a  primary  geography  a  ready 
guide  to  language  exercise.  She  is  not  limited  to  it, 
however.  She  should  at  all  events  have  a  logical 
plan  of  her  own,  and  adhere  to  it.  Teachers  of  in- 
termediate grades,  who  have  text-bboks  thrust  into 
their  hands,  are  in  danger  of  confining  their  work  to 
them,  or  of  throwing  it  on  to  the  class.  So  far  as 
language-work,  however,  is  concerned,  she  is  almost 

o         o  ' 

entirely  put  upon  her  own  resources.  The  success 
or  failure  of  her  attempts  at  oral  language-exercise 
will  depend  upon  herself.  "  There  is,  perhaps,  no 


ORAL    MHTHODS.  6 1 

» 

practice  better  adapted  to  insure  effective  oral  teach- 
ing/' says  one  author,  ''than  diligent  preparation  of 
the  lessons  which  the  teacher  intends  to  give  her 
pupils  ;  "  and  again  :  "  Experience  daily  proves  that 
an  unprepared  lesson,  or  what  may  be  termed  ex- 
tempore teaching,  is  sure  to  be  vague,  diffuse,  and 
shallow;  and  on  the  other  hand  that  a  well-prepared 
lesson  is  generally  clear,  to  the  point,  and  given 
with  spirit  and  effect."  In  arranging  a  plan  of  in- 
struction the  method  is  not  new.  It  should  still  be 
oral  and  objective ;  it  is  only  the  scope  which  is  ex- 
tended, until  the  library  is  drawn  upon  in  the  course 
of  the  teacher's  and  pupil's  combined  interest  in  in- 
vestigation. 

From  his  entrance  to  school,  the  attention  of  the 
child  has  been  directed  to  objects,  at  first  within 
the  schoolroom,  and  then  beyond  its  walls 

as    his    power    of     observation     increases. 

Methods. 

Apply  the  principles  of  attention  to  language- 
exercise  of  the  fourth  grade.  The  universe  is  one 
vast  object-lesson,  and  yet  teachers  ask  plaintively, 
"  What  shall  we  teach  in  language  ?  Where  shall 
we  look  for  subject-matter  ?  "  Let  the  teacher  first 
ask  herself  in  what  direction  her  own  tastes  lead 
her.  What  she  enjoys  she  will  teach  well  ;  what 
she  does  not  like  she  will  teach,  if  she  must,  per- 
functorily, and  therefore  unsuccessfully.  The  secret 
of  reasonable  supervision  lies  in  giving  full  play  to 
the  natural  bent  and  predominating  tastes  of  teach- 
ers, where  they  have  any  ;  where  they  have  none, 


62  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

and  are  incapable  of  inspiration,  the  case  with  them 
is  indeed  hopeless.  As  means  of  development, 
object-teaching  has  borne  its  share  in  the  work  of 
the  previous  grades.  We  now  consider  it  as  a  source 
of  information,  the  communication  of  which  serves 
to  produce  correct  speech  in  both  its  oral  and  written 
forms. 

When  your  class  come  into  the  fourth  grade,  dis- 
cover by  experiment  what  they  can  do.  Illustrate 
by  example  their  knowledge  of  punctuation,  of  the 
principles  of  letter-writing,  of  the  correct  use  of 
e very-day  forms  of  speech,  of  abbreviations  and 
capitals.  Do  not  be  surprised  if  they  make  occa- 
sional and  even  frequent  blunders ;  neither  are  their 
elders  exempt  from  error.  After  the  first  month  of 
such  trial,  begin  your  own  course  of  language-work. 
Provide  each  of  your  pupils  with  a  blank  book. 
Tell  them  that  only  the  best  exercises  of  the  class 
on  any  subject  will  be  written  therein.  Begin  with 
what  is  common  and  near  at  hand.  In  addition  to 
the  animals,  plants,  vegetables,  minerals,  which  you 
will  take  up  in  the  course  of  your  instruction  in 
geography,  add  to  your  repertory  such  familiar  ob- 
jects as  the  following  :  pen,  candle,  match,  honey, 
sealing-wax,  pin,  ink,  paper,  milk,  coral,  ivory,  whale- 
bone, camphor,  cork,  acorn,  needle,  bell.  Show  a  lead- 
pencil  and  ask  of  what  it  is  composed.  Tell  where 
the  lead  is  found,  what  other  name  may  be  given  to 
it,  how  it  appears  when  dug  from  the  earth,  where 
the  wood  of  the  pencil  comes  from,  of  what  shape 


63 

are  the  trees,  what  early  mention  is  made  of  them, 
how  the  wood  is  prepared  for  use,  what  different 
operations  are  required  to  prepare  the  wood  for  the 
lead ;  split  a  pencil  and  show  the  strips  and  the 
groove.  Have  the  statements  made  in  clear,  com- 
pact sentences  written  on  slates,  to  be  transferred  to 
the  blank  book.  A  drop  of  water  will  lead  to  re- 
marks, drawn  from  pupils  if  possible,  upon  its 
springs  and  sources,  the  various  kinds  and  conditions 
in  which  it  is  found,  its  qualities  and  uses,  the  names 
of  the  larger  bodies,  and  of  such  as  may  be  within 
the  personal  knowledge  of  the  class.  Draw  out 
answers  from  pupils  before  giving  them  information. 
When  those  answers  are  correct  let  them  be  written 
down.  When  many  such  statements  are  made  on 
any  one  subject,  combine  those  statements  into  a 
description,  and  let  that  be  a  weekly  exercise,  the 
result  to  be  written  in  the  book.  Stimulate  the 
pupil's  interest  by  making  him  seem  to  inform  you 
of  what  you  perhaps  do  not  know.  Never  repress 
any  attempt  to  talk,  however  rude  or  uncouth  it  may 
be.  Correct,  but  do  not  ridicule. 

Choose  the  subjects  for  these  daily  talks  and  ex- 
ercises according  to  your  own  taste  and  familiarity 
with  them.  Proceed  in  all  cases  from  the  simple  to 
the  more  complicated,  and  begin  at  home  before  go- 
ing abroad.  If  you  take  animals,  divide  them  into 
branches,  classes,  orders,  and  families ;  mark  the 
differences,  as  you  proceed,  of  mammals,  birds,  rep- 
tiles, and  fishes  ;  show  the  features  certain  families 


64  HINTS    ON    LAN(iL'A(iK. 

have  in  common  ;  illustrate  traits  of  character  bv 
anecdotes,  and  before  offering  information  of  your 
own,  draw  it  from  the  pupil  by  questions.  Show  pic- 
tures when  possible,  and  make  the  language-exercise 
an  object-lesson  first,  a  writing-exercise  later.  Mow- 
ers, vegetables,  minerals,  will  take  their  turn  in  your 
programme,  and  be  submitted  to  similar  treatment. 
Suit  the  description  of  qualities  to  the  age  and  de- 
velopment of  your  pupils ;  use  the  words  opaque, 
porous,  soluble,  nutritious,  brittle,  transparent^  elastic, 
odorous.  Whenever  you  can,  explain  those  words  so 
that  your  pupils  can  apply  them  correctly  the  next 
time  they  appropriately  occur.  You  will  find  the  fol- 
lowing words  applicable  to  a  piece  of  refined  sugar  : 
white,  sweet,  sparkling,  crystalline,  solid,  fusible, 
soluble,  shapeless,  hard,  refined,  nutritious,  crumb- 
ling, opaque,  vegetable  (substance),  brittle.  There 
is  among  them  hardly  a  word  that  may  not  be  made 
plain  to  your  pupils  by  a  few  words  of  explanation, 
nor  one  that  they  will  not  be  eager  and  able  to 
use  in  describing  some  other  vegetable  or  mineral 
substance. 

Take  an  interest  in  what  you  are  teaching,  and 

J  o" 

your  class  will  feel  the  contagion.  You  can  inspire 
them  to  original  investigation,  and  your  pupils  of 
Grade  V.  will  acquire  a  fund  of  information  which 
grammar  scholars  of  higher  grades  once  failed  to 
possess.  The  year  represented  by  Grade  IV.  will 
best  be  occupied  with  simple  exercises,  in  which  the 
pupil's  slender  fund  of  knowledge  is  supplemented 


ORAL    METHODS.  65 

by  the  teacher's  larger  hoard.  As  he  reaches  the 
fifth  grade,  inspire  him  to  find  out  for  himself  what 
lies  within  reach  of  every  schoolboy.  Let  him  bring 
to  school  the  fruit  of  his  investigation,  and  the  best 
essay  will  merit  preservation  in  the  blank  book  ;  or, 
when  a  subject  has  been  studied,  let  the  teacher  ask 
questions,  and  the  simple  answers  of  the  class  may  be 
written  down  as  given,  or  made  over  into  a  narrative 
form.  Here  are  certain  questions  and  answers 
about  the  Camel,  which  may  serve  as  a  guide  for 
class  work.  It  is  too  much  to  expect  a  teacher  to 
make  a  dialogue  concerning  the  objects  of  an  entire 
year's  study ;  but  suppose  that  your  class  have  read 
about  the  camel,  and  that  each  one  has  acquired 
some  fact  which  he  gives  in  answer  to  the  teacher's 
question  ;  or  the  teacher  may  bring  an  encyclopaedia 
into  school,  and,  having  read  to  the  class  about  the 
camel,  call  for  facts  in  the  pupil's  own  language:  — 

1.  Of  what  is  the  camel  a  native  ? 

Ans.  Of  the  desert  countries  of  southwestern  Asia,  whence 
it  spread  over  the  arid  regions  of  the  eastern  hemisphere. 
(What  do  you  mean  by  "  arid  "  ? ) 

2.  What  is  it  sometimes  called  ? 
Ans.  "The  Ship  of  the  Desert." 

3.  Why  is  it  so  called  ? 

Ans.  Because  it  carries  heavy  loads  over  the  desert,  where 
nothing  could  take  its  place.  (Some  precocious  child  answers  : 
"  Where  it  is  the  only  means  of  locomotion.") 

4.  How  is  it  prepared  for  its  life  in  the  desert  ? 

First  Ansvver.  Its  teeth  are  wonderfully  suited  for  tearing 
apart  and  masticating  the  coarse,  dry  shrubs  on  which  it  feeds. 
(Question  :  What  do  mean  hy  masticating  ? ) 


66  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

Strojttf  Answer.  Its  nostrils  can  be  opened  or  shut  at  will, 
and  thus  the  organ  of  smell,  which  is  very  acute,  is  defended 
against  the  hot  sand  which  sweeps  over  the  desert. 

Third  Answer.  The  toes,  except  the  two  forming  the  foot, 
are  connected  by  a  broad,  elastic  pad,  which  buoys  the  camel 
up  as  it  moves  over  the  yielding  surface  of  the  desert. 

Fourth  Answer.  The  hump  or  humps  on  the  camel's  back  are 
masses  of  fat,  forming  a  reserve  of  nourishment  to  be  used 
when  other  supplies  fail.  (In  reply  to  this  statement,  which  is 
denied  by  some  authorities,  the  teacher  will  tell  her  class  that 
in  a  recent  war  in  Afghanistan  sixty  thousand  camels  died  of 
starvation  and  thirst.) 

Fifth  Answer.  The  stomach  contains  cells  in  which  water  can 
be  stored. 

5.  Describe  the  camel. 

Ans.  JOHN.  The  camel  is  about  eight  feet  high. 

MARY.   It  is  of  a  dark  brown  or  yellowish  color. 

JAMES.  It  has  teeth  like  a  dog. 

FRANK.  The  camel  chews  the  cud  like  the  cow. 

SARAH.  It  has  cushions  on  its  knees,  so  that  it  can  kneel 
down  to  receive  its  load. 

Qtiestion.  How  is  the  camel  taught  to  kneel  ? 

Ans.  The  young  camel's  legs  are  bent  under  it  every  day 
by  its  owner,  until  it  kneels  when  commanded.  They  are 
also  taught  to  fast  for  five  or  six  days  at  a  time,  to  prepare 
them  for  their  life  on  the  desert. 

6.  How  heavy  a  weight  can  the  camel  carry  ? 
CHARLES.  From  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  pounds. 
EDWARD.  They  are  expected  to  carry  their  load  twenty-five 

miles  a  day  for  three  days,  without  water. 

JENNIE.  Some  camels  can  travel  fifty  miles  a  day  for  five 
days  without  drinking. 

PETER.  When  too  heavily  laden  the  camel  refuses  to  rise 
from  its  knees,  but  when  on  the  march  it  is  exceedingly  patient, 
only  yielding  beneath  its  load  to  die. 

7.  How  does  the  camel  meet  a  storm ? 


ORAL    METHODS.  6/ 

Ans.  When  overtaken  by  the  simoon,  or  sand-storm,  it  falls 
upon  its  knees,  and,  stretching  its  neck  along  the  sand,  closes 
its  nostrils  and  remains  thus  motionless  until  the  air  is  clear. 

8.  How  is  the  driver  protected  at  this  time  ? 

Ans.  The  driver  crouches  behind  the  camel,  wrapped  in  his 
mantle. 

9.  How  does  the  dromedary  differ  from  the  camel  ? 

Ans.  It  is  found  in  Arabia,  and  lias  but  one  hump.  It  is 
much  more  fleet  than  the  camel,  and  has  finer  hair  and  a  more 
elegant  form.  It  can  carry  its  driver,  when  necessary,  one 
hundred  miles  a  day.  The  dromedary  is  to  the  camel  as  a 
race-horse  to  a  cart-horse. 

10.  How  do  we  know  that  the  camel  was  one  of  the  earliest 
animals  subdued  by  man  for  his  use  ? 

Ans.  Because  it  is  mentioned  in  the  oldest  records  of  the 
human  race,  six  thousand  camels  forming  part  of  the  wealth 
of  Job.  The  trace  of  no  wild  camel  has  been  found,  from 
which  the  tame  species  could  have  been  derived,  as  is  the  case 
with  all  other  domestic  animals. 

11.  Is  the  camel  an  amiable  creature  ? 

Ans.  No,  it  is  very  vicious  and  bad-tempered.  They  often 
fight  with  each  other.  They  are  so  obstinate  that  they  often 
sink  on  their  knees,  and  no  amount  of  beating  will  get  them 
up  until  they  choose  to  rise. 

12.  What  do  they  live  upon  ? 

Ans.  Date  leaves,  and  a  kind  of  cake  made  of  the  dates ; 
beans,  and  prickly  shrubs. 

13.  What  can  you  say  of  its  milk? 

Ans.  It  is  a  favorite  drink,  and  is  often  made  into  butter. 
Its  flesh  is  cut  up  and  salted  for  food. 

14.  What  is  manufactured  from  the  camel  ? 

Ans.  The  hair  is  made  into  small  brushes  used  by  painters. 
The  hide  is  made  into  very  strong  leather.  The  Arabs  shear 
their  camels  every  summer,  and  weave  the  hair  into  tent-cover- 
ings and  clothing. 

SUSAN.  Mv  mother  has  a  camel's-hair  shawl. 


68  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

15.  How  can  you  show  that  the  camel  is  a  native  of  the 
desert  ? 

Ans.  Because  all  camels  dislike  to  cross  a  stream  of  water 
or  marshy  ground,  so  that  their  owners  deceive  them  by  spread- 
ing tent-cloths  upon  damp  ground  which  they  wish  them  to  pass 
over. 

16.  What  is  the  motion  of  a  camel? 

Ans.  The  camel  moves  first  the  legs  on  the  right  side,  then 
the  two  on  the  left  side,  giving  its  body  a  swaying  motion, 
which  causes  in  people  unaccustomed  to  the  motion  a  feeling 
like  seasickness. 

Here  follow  some  questions  upon  the  Elephant :  — 

1.  What  do  we  notice  particularly  in  the  elephant? 

Ans.  The  size  of  the  body,  the  teeth,  and  the  proboscis  or 
trunk. 

2.  What  is  the  trunk  ? 

Ans.  It  is  a^huge  extension  of  the  nose  and  upper  lip,  from 
six  to  eight  feet  long,  formed  of  a  mass  of  muscl'es.  These 
muscles  number  nearly  forty  thousand.  They  are  so  arranged 
as  to  produce  the  greatest  possible  diversity  of  motion. 

3.  What  does  the  end  of  the  trunk  contain  ? 

Ans.  The  end  of  the  trunk  contains  the  two  openings  of  the 
nostrils  by  which  the  elephant  breathes  when  swimming.  It 
fills  its  trunk  with  water  through  these  nostrils,  and  then 
throws  the  water  into  its  mouth  or  over  its  body. 

4.  How  does  the  trunk  end  ? 

Ans.  In  something  like  a  finger,  of  great  delicacy  of  touch. 

5.  To  what  may  you  compare  it  ? 

Ans.  It  forms  an  organ  in  many  respects  like  the  human 
hand.  The  elephant  smells  with  it  also. 

6.  How  does  the  elephant  use  this  finger  ? 

Ans.  With  it  the  elephant  collects  food,  discovers  snares, 
and  strikes  down  its  enemy.  It  can  also  pick  up  a  pin  or  open 
a  door  with  its  proboscis. 

7.  From  what  is  the  word  "  trunk"  derived? 


ORAL    METHODS.  69 

Ans.  From  a  French  word  meaning  trumpet,  because  the 
elephant  utters  through  this  organ  a  shrill,  trumpet-like  sound 
when  enraged. 

8.  How  much  does  the  elephant  depend  upon  its  trunk  ? 
Ans.  Without  it  the  elephant  could  not  feed  itself.     It  is 

therefore  very  cautious  in  its  use. 

9.  How  many  teeth  has  the  elephant  ? 

Ans.  Two  incisors,  or  tusks,  and  six  molars.  As  the  latter 
are  gradually  worn  away  others  appear,  and  the  elephant  may 
be  said  to  be  always  teething. 

10.  Of  what  are  the  tusks  composed  ? 

Ans.  Of  ivory.  They  grow  during  the  animal's  life,  and 
sometimes  weigh  two  hundred  pounds.  They  are  hollow  for 
a  part  of  their  length. 

11.  Of  what  use  are  they? 

Ans.  The  elephant  uses  them  in  fighting,  and  has  thrown  a 
tiger  thirty  feet  into  the  air  with  them.  They  are  useful  in 
tearing  down  trees,  upon  the  leaves  of  which  the  elephant  feeds. 
In  Ceylon,  where  the  elephant  lives  on  grass,  it  has  no  tusks. 

12.  Has  the  elephant  a  large  brain? 

Ans.  It  is  rather  small ;  but  the  bones  of  the  skull  are  very 
large,  in  order  to  support  the  powerful  muscles  of  the  head  and 
trunk. 

13.  How  much  does  the  elephant  weigh  at  full  size  ? 
Ans.  Fully  three  tons,  and  stands  eleven  feet  in  height. 

14.  How  long  does  the  elephant  live? 

.  Ans.  It  grows  for  thirty  years,  and  lives  more  than  one  hun- 
dred. Some  have  lived  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  in  cap- 
tivity. 

15.  How  does  the  African  differ  from  the  Asiatic  elephant? 
Ans.    The    ears   of    the  former  are  very  large,  completely 

covering  the  shoulders  when  thrown  back.  They  have  been 
known  to  be  three  and  one  half  feet  in  length  by  two  and 
one  half  feet  wide.  The  African  stands  higher,  and  his  tusks 
are  heavier. 

1 6.  How  much  ivory  is  imported  ? 


7O  HINTS    ON    LANGUAGE. 

Am.  England  imports  1,200,000  Ibs.  yearly,  to  obtain  which 
30,000  animals  are  killed.  Perhaps  100,000  a  year  supply  the 
entire  world. 

17.  For  what  has  the  elephant  been  used  ? 

Am.  By  the  ancient  nations,  like  the  Romans,  in  war.  By  the 
natives  of  Asia,  to  drive  off  invaders.  Since  fire-arms  came 
into  use,  elephants  are  employed  to  drag  heavy  cannon  and 
carry  baggage.  They  are  also  used  in  India  to  hunt  tigers,  the 
hunters  sitting  on  the  elephant's  back  in  an  open  box,  the 
driver  being  on  the  animal's  back. 

18.  How  are  elephants  caught  ? 

Am.  They  are  driven  into  a  large  enclosure  or  corral.  The 
entrance  is  then  walled  up,  and  the  elephants  rush  wildly  about, 
seeking  means  of  escape.  After  a  while  they  become  tired, 
and  tame  elephants  are  let  in,  bearing  a  keeper.  As  the  wild 
elephants  mingle  freely  with  the  tame  ones,  they  are  thrown  off 
their  guard,  and  a  rope,  one  end  of  which  is  attached  to  the  neck 
of  a  tame  elephant,  is  passed  over  each  leg  of  the  wild  animal. 
It  is  then  securely  tied  to  the  trunk  of  a  tree.  After  a  training 
of  two  months,  in  which  the  tame  elephant  assists,  the  captive 
may  be  ridden  by  the  owner,  and  worked  in  four  months. 

19.  Why  are  white  elephants  so  valued  ? 

Am.  Because  they  are  so  rare.  In  Siam  the  chief  white 
elephant  ranks  next  the  queen,  and  before  the  heir  apparent  to 
the  crown.  (Tell  your  class  that  in  the  sixteenth  century  a 
war  was  waged  in  lower  India,  in  which  five  kings  were  slain 
for  the  possession  of  a  particular  white  elephant.  Read  ac- 
counts of  their  habits  of  bathing  in  herds,  and  the  exploits  of 
hunters  like  Gumming.) 

The  pupils  of  Grades  IV.  and  V.  will  continue  the 

practice"  of  letter-writing.     They  are  now  prepared 

to    pay  some    attention    to    style.       Hence 

Letter-       teach  the  division  of  the  body  of  the  letter 
Writing. 

into   paragraphs.     Show  that   a  change   in 

the  thought  or  subject  matter  of  the   letters  should 


LETTER-WRITING.  /I 

be  indicated  by  taking  a  new  line ;  mark  in  some 
illustration  upon  the  board  the  place  of  the  first 
word  in  the  new  paragraph.  Teach  the  abbrevia- 
tions belonging  to  certain  titles  or  offices.  Let  the 
children  write  imaginary  letters,  not  like  Toots  to 
himself,  but  to  personages  enjoying  titles  of  office, 
dignity,  rank,  etc.  Make  the  style  of  address  con- 
form to  the  age,  character,  or  office  of  the  person 
addressed.  Let  the  class  answer  advertisements 
found  in  newspapers  for  clerks,  teachers,  mechanics, 
artisans,  agents,  and  state  in  modest  terms  the  qual- 
ifications possessed  by  the  applicant.  Remove  from 
all  language-exercises  anything  cramped  and  formal, 
all  the  etiquette  attending  the  "  composition "  of 
higher  grades.  Let  the  exercises  be  fresh  while 
instructive,  interesting  while  beneficial ;  invest  them 
with  the  charm  which  you  endeavor  to  throw  around 
your  work  in  all  branches  of  study,  and,  while  your 
pupils  will  know  nothing  of  technical  grammar,  they 
will  write  a  letter  or  read  an  essay  which  will  show 
them  to  be,  like  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  "  above 
grammar." 

On  the  following  pages  will  be  found  a  list  of 
books  of  authority  on  themes  suitable  for  language- 
exercises,  together  with  the  catalogue  of  a  Teachers1 
Consulting  Library. 


BOOKS  OF  AUTHORITY  ON  TOPICS  SUIT- 
ABLE  FOR  LANGUAGE-EXERCISE. 


All  Encyclopaedias. 

Manual  of  Object  Teaching  : 

Primary  Object  Lessons  : 

Lessons  on  Objects : 

Elementary  Instruction  : 

Development  Lessons  : 

Object  Lessons  : 

Cambridge  Information  Cards. 

Fairy  Land  of  Science  : 

Matter  and  Force  : 

Geological  Story : 

Science  Primers. 

Oral  Lessons  in  Science  : 

Familiar  Science ; 

Child's  Book  of  Nature  : 

Child's  Book  of  Natural  History  : 

Natural  History : 

Animal  Physiology  : 

Talks  with  my  Boys : 

72 


Calkins. 

» 

Sheldon. 

?> 

DeGraff. 
Walker;    Welch. 
Lee  &>  Shepard. 
Buckley. 
TyndalL 
Dana. 
Applet  on  s. 
Barnard. 
Brewer. 
Hooker. 
Carll. 
Harpers. 
Angell ;  Cleland. 
Mowry. 


BOOKS    OF    AUTHORITY. 


73 


Natural  History  Series  and  Manual :  Prang 

Natural  History  Reader  : 

Glimpses  of  the  Animated  World  : 

How  Plants  Behave  : 

How  Plants  Grow : 

Manuals  for  Teachers  : 

Methods  of  Teaching : 

Object  Lessons  on  Human  Body  : 

Picture  and  Word  Cards : 

Word  Method  in  Number : 

Seven  Little  Sisters : 

Geographical  Readers : 

Voices  for  the  Speechless  (for  memorizing). 

Memory  Gems :  Lambert. 

Little  Gems  :  Potter  6*  Ainsworth. 

Selections  for  Little  Folks  :  Eldredge  6°  Co. 

Ballads  and  Lyrics  :  Lodge. 


Johonnot. 

» 

Gray. 

?) 

Eldredge  6°  Bro. 

Swett. 

Lovell  <$*  Co. 

Davis. 

Sanford. 

Andrews. 

Philip. 


TEACHERS'    CONSULTING    LIBRARY. 


Education  as  a  Science  :  Bain. 

Art  of  School  Management :  Baldwin. 
Calderwood  on  Teaching. 

Early  and  Infant  Education  :  Currie. 

School  Room  Guide  :  DeGraff. 

Lectures  on  Teaching  :  Fitch. 

Morals  and  Manners  :  Gow. 

In  the  School  Room  :  Hart. 

Errors  in  the  Use  of  English  :  Hodgson. 

School  Management :  Kellogg. 

Comenius  ;   His  Life,  etc.  :  Laurie. 

Talks  with  Teachers  :  Mayo. 

Teacher  and  Parent :  Northend. 

Science  of  Education  :  Ogden. 

Teacher's  Manual :  Orcutt. 

Quincy  Methods  Illustrated  :  Patridge. 

Science  and  Art  of  Education  :  J.  Payne. 
Lectures  on  Education  : 

School  Supervision  :  W.  H.  Payne. 
74 


TKACHKRS      CONSl'LTIM;     IJ1JKARV.  /5 

After  Kinclergarden,  What?  Peabody  and  Mann. 

Talks  with  Teachers  :  Parker. 

Educational  Reformers :  Quick. 

(  hitlines  of  Psychology  :  Sully. 

Philosphy  of  Education  :  Tate. 

Methods  of  Instruction  :  Wickers  ham. 

Lectures  on  Pedagogy  :  Hailman. 

Methods  of  History  :  Hall. 

Education  :  Spencer.  • 

Principles  and  Practice  of  Teaching  \Johonnot. 

Vocal  and  Physical  Training  :  Munroe. 

Sound  Bodies  for  Boys  and  Girls  :  Blaikie. 

Theory  and  Practice  of  Teaching  :  Thring. 

Lessons  on  Manners  :  Wiggin. 

School  Management :  Landon. 

Education  by  Doing  :  Johnson. 
School  Hygiene,  Lectures  on. 

Education  and  Manual  Industry  :  Mac  Arthur. 


Lee  and  Shepard's  Popular  Handbooks. 

Price,  each,  in  cloth,  50  cents,  except  when  other  price  is  given, 

Forgotten  Meanings;  or,  An  Hour  with  a  Dictionary.  By  AI.KKKD 
WAITES,  author  of  "  Historical  Student's  Manual." 

Handbook  of  Elocution  Simplified.  By  WALTER  K.  FOHES,  with 
an  Introduction  by  GEORGE  M.  BAKER. 

Handbook  of  English  Synonyms.  With  an  Appendix,  showing  the 
Correct  Use  of  Prepositions;  also  a  Collection  of  Foreign  Phrases.  By 
LOOMIS  J.  CAMPBELL. 

Handbook  of  Conversation.  Its  Faults  and  its  Graces.  Compiled  by 
ANDREW  P.  PEABOUY,  D.I).,  LL.D.  Comprising:  (i)  Dr.  PEABODY'S 
Address;  (2)  Mr.  TRENCH'S  Lecture;  (3)  Mr.  PARRY  GWYNNE'S  "  A 
Word  to  the  Wise;  or,  Hints  on  the  Current  Improprieties  of  Expression 
in  Reading  and  Writing;  "  (4)  Mistakes  and  Improprieties  of  Speaking 
and  Writing  Corrected. 

Handbook  of  Punctuation  and  other  Typographical  Matters.  For 
the  Use  of  Printers,  Authors,  Teachers,  and  Scholars.  By  MARSHALL 
T.  BIGELOW,  corrector  at  the  University  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Handbook  of  Blunders.  Designed  to  prevent  1,000  common  blunders 
in  writing  and  speaking.  By  HARLAN  H.  BALLARD,  A.M.,  principal 
of  Lenox  Academy,  Lenox,  Mass. 

Broken  English.  A  Frenchman's  Struggle  in  the  English  Language. 
Instructive  as  a  handbook  of  French  conversation.  By  Professor  E.  C. 
DUBOIS. 

Beginnings  with  the  Microscope.  A  working  handbook  containing 
simple  instructions  in  the  art  and  method  of  using  the  microscope,  and 
preparing  articles  for  examination.  By  WALTER  P.  M  ANTON. 

Field  Botany.  A  Handbook  for  the  Collector.  Containing  instructions 
for  gathering  and  preserving  Plants,  and  the  formation  of  an  Herbarium. 
Also  complete  instructions  in  Leaf  Photography,  Plant  Printing,  and 
the  Skeletonizing  of  Leaves.  By  WALTER  P.  M  ANTON. 

Taxidermy  without  a  Teacher.  Comprising  a  complete  manual  of 
instructions  for  Preparing  and  Preserving  Birds,  Animals,  and  Fishes, 
with  a  chapter  on  Hunting  and  Hygiene;  together  with  instructions  for 
Preserving  Egers,  and  Making  Skeletons,  and  a  number  of  valuable 
recipes.  By  WALTER  P.  MANTON. 

Insects.  How  to  Catch  and  how  to  Prepare  them  for  the  Cabinet.  A 
Manual  of  Instruction  for  the  Field-Naturalist.  By  W.  P.  MANTON. 

What  is  to  be  Done  ?  A  Handbook  for  the  Nursery,  with  Useful 
Hints  for  Children  and  Adults.  By  ROBERT  B.  DIXON,  M.D. 

Handbook  of  Wood  Engraving.  With  practical  instructions  in  the 
art,  for  persons  wishing  to  learn  without  an  instructor.  By  WILLIAM 
A.  EMERSON.  Illustrated.  Price  $1.00. 

Five-Minute   Recrtations.    Prepared  by  WALTER  K.  FOBES. 

Five-Minute  Declamations.     Prepared  by  WALTER  K.  FOBES. 

Warrington's  Manual.  Handbook  of  Legislative  Practice  for  the  Guid- 
ance of  Public  Meetings,  etc.  By  WM.  S.  ROBINSON  ("  Warrington  "). 

Sold  by  all  booksellers  and  newsdealers,  and  sent  by  mail,  post- 
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LEE  AND  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


Lee  and  Shepard's  Popular  Handbooks. 

Price,  each,  in  cloth,  50  cents,  except  when  other  price  is  given, 

Exercises  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Senses.  For  young  chil- 
dren. By  HORACE  GRANT,  author  of"  Arithmetic  for  Young  Children." 
Edited  by  WILLARD  SMALL. 

Hints  on  Language  in  Connection  with  Sight-Reading  and  Writing  in 
Primary  and  Intermediate  Schools.  By  S.  ARTHUR  BENT,  A.M., 
Superintendent  of  Public  Schools,  Clinton,  Mass. 

The  Hunter's  Handbook.  Containing  lists  of  provisions  and  camp 
paraphernalia,  and  hints  on  the  fire,  cooking-utensils,  etc.,  with  approved 
receipts  for  camp  cookery.  By  "  AN  OLD  HUNTER." 

Universal  Phonography  ;  or,  Shorthand  by  the  "  Allen  Method."  A 
self-instructor.  By  G.  G.  ALLEN. 

Hints  and  Helps  for  those  who  Write,  Print,  or  Read.  By  B.  DREW, 
proof-reader. 

Pronouncing  Handbook  of  Three  Thousand  Words  often  Mispro- 
nounced. By  R.  SOULE  and  L.  J.  CAMPBELL. 

Short  Studies  of  American  Authors.  By  THOMAS  WENTWORTH 
HIGGINSON. 

The  Stars  and  the  Earth ;  or,  Thoughts  upon  Space,  Time,  and  Eter- 
nity. With  an  introduction  by  THOMAS  HILL,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Handbook  of  the  Earth.  Natural  Methods  in  Geography.  By  LOUISA 
PARSONS  HOPKINS,  teacher  of  normal  me?bods  in  the  Swain  Free 
School,  New  Bedford. 

Natural-History  Plays.  Dialogues  and  Recitations  for  School  Exhibi- 
tions. By  LOUISA  P.  HOPKINS. 

The  Telephone.  An  account  of  the  phenomena  of  Electricity,  Magnet- 
ism, and  Sound,  with  directions  for  making  a  speaking-telephone.  By 
Professor  A.  E.  DOLBEAR. 

Lessons  on  Manners.     By  EDITH  E.  WIGGIN. 

Water  Analysis.  A  Handbook  for  Water-Drinkers.  By  G.  L.  AUS- 
TIN, M.D. 

Handbook  of  Light  Gymnastics.  By  LUCY  B.  HUNT,  instructor  in 
gymnastics  at  Smith  (female)  College,  Northampton,  Mass. 

The  Parlor  Gardener.  A  Treatise  on  the  House-Culture  of  Ornamental 
Plants.  By  CORNELIA  J.  RANDOLPH.  With  illustrations. 

Whirlwinds,  Cyclones,  and  Tornadoes.  By  WILLIAM  MORRIS 
DAVIS,  instructor  in  Harvard  College.  Illustrated. 

Practical  Boat-Sailing.  By  DOUGLAS  FRAZAR.  Classic  size,  $1.00. 
With  numerous  diagrams  and  illustrations. 

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LEE  AND  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston, 


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